Turner v Bayer Australia Ltd (No 5)

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA Not Restricted

AT MELBOURNE
COMMON LAW DIVISION

MAJOR TORTS LIST

S ECI 2019 02916

BETWEEN:

PATRICE SARAH TURNER	Plaintiff
v
BAYER AUSTRALIA LTD (ACN 000 138 714) & ORS (according to the attached Schedule)	Defendants

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JUDGE:	Matthews AsJ
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	25 October 2022, further materials filed sequentially, last of which was 10 January 2023
DATE OF RULING:	10 March 2023
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	Turner v Bayer Australia Ltd (No 5)
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2023] VSC 104 (First revision 6 November 2023)

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PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Legal professional privilege – Plaintiff’s challenge to Defendants’ privilege claims – Adequacy of Defendants’ evidence for and description of privilege claims – Defendants’ initial approach inadequate – Status of attachments to privileged emails – IOOF Holdings Ltd v Maurice Blackburn Pty Ltd [2016] VSC 311 referred to – Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), ss 18, 19 applied.

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Plaintiff	Mr M Guo	Slater & Gordon Lawyers
For the First to Fourth and Sixth Defendants	Mr J Teng	Clayton Utz

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction........................................................................................................................................ 1

The Plaintiff’s first summons...................................................................................................... 1

The Plaintiff’s second summons................................................................................................. 3

Compliance with orders made in respect of the Privilege Applications.............................. 4

Material relied upon by the parties in respect of the Privilege Applications...................... 4

Background......................................................................................................................................... 6

What this proceeding is about..................................................................................................... 6

The Agreed Discovery Plan and discovery made by the Defendants pursuant to it......... 6

Defendants’ privilege claims challenged by the Plaintiff....................................................... 8

Applicable law and principles...................................................................................................... 11

Statutory provisions.................................................................................................................... 11

Applicable Principles.................................................................................................................. 12

Aspects of the First Privilege Application.................................................................................. 14

Phases 1 and 2 of the ADP involved mere replication of privilege claims from US Litigation 14

Plaintiff’s submissions...................................................................................................... 14

Defendants’ submissions.................................................................................................. 15

Does paragraph 3.3(c) of the ADP mean that the Defendants’ approach to LPP claims for Phases 1 and 2 is justified?............................................................................................................ 15

Defendants’ submissions.................................................................................................. 15

Plaintiff’s submissions...................................................................................................... 17

Adequacy of the descriptions relied upon for the LPP claims for Phases 1 and 2............ 18

Plaintiff’s submissions...................................................................................................... 18

Defendants’ submissions.................................................................................................. 19

Adequacy of the descriptions relied upon for the LPP claims for Phase 3........................ 20

Plaintiff’s submissions...................................................................................................... 20

Defendants’ submissions.................................................................................................. 22

The Court’s ruling at the hearing of the First Privilege Application................................... 23

The Defendants’ evidence filed subsequent to the hearing on 25 October 2022................ 25

The Defendants’ subsequent evidence in respect of the First Privilege Application........ 25

The Defendants’ evidence in respect of the Second Privilege Application........................ 32

Correspondence between the parties following the Defendants’ further evidence........... 36

The LPP claims now challenged by the Plaintiff....................................................................... 36

Description of the Final Challenged List................................................................................. 36

The Defendants’ Privilege Codes.............................................................................................. 38

The Plaintiff’s Challenge Codes................................................................................................ 40

Consideration.................................................................................................................................... 41

Further consideration and/or clarification in respect of the First Privilege Application as it stood by the conclusion of the hearing on 25 October 2022................................................... 41

Consideration of the Second Privilege Application prior to the orders made on 17 November 2022.............................................................................................................................................. 43

General findings in respect of the Defendants’ additional evidence.................................. 44

General…