Sigley and De Santis & Ors (No 2)

In *Sigley and De Santis & Ors (No 2)*, Wilson J of the Supreme Court of New South Wales considered applications by the applicant to strike out the defence and counterclaim of the 17th respondent, as well as the amended defences of several other respondents. The applicant also sought to challenge a claim of legal professional privilege over five items of correspondence.

The court was required to determine whether the 17th respondent's counterclaim, which was based on the same factual foundation as the applicant's own case, disclosed no reasonable cause of action or was otherwise an abuse of process warranting a strike out. Additionally, the court had to consider the validity of the claim to legal professional privilege over the five disputed documents, in circumstances where a trial was imminent.

Wilson J dismissed the strike out applications concerning the 17th respondent's defence and counterclaim, and the amended defences of the other respondents, finding no basis for such an order. Regarding the claim of legal professional privilege, the court noted a lack of factual explanation to support the assertion. Consequently, the Senior Registrar was directed to inspect the impugned documents to determine the existence of privilege and provide judgment on this issue shortly before the trial commenced.