Vic Hotel Pty Ltd v DC Payments Australasia Pty Ltd

Vic Hotel Pty Ltd was involved in a dispute with DC Payments Australasia Pty Ltd, concerning an allegation of inducing breach of contract. The case was before the Supreme Court of Victoria. The primary issue the court had to decide was whether the plaintiff had waived legal professional privilege by making certain allegations in a pleading. This issue was examined through a trial of a preliminary question, pursuant to Order 47 of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2005.

The court considered whether the plaintiff's allegations in the pleading put the state of mind of the recipient of the privileged communications in issue, thereby resulting in a waiver of privilege. The court followed the test established in Mann v Carnell and Expense Reduction Analysts Group Pty Ltd v Armstrong Strategic Management and Marketing Pty Ltd, and held that the plaintiff had indeed waived the privilege by the specific allegations made. This conclusion was based on the principle that when a party to litigation puts the state of mind of another in issue, it may amount to a waiver of privilege over the communications relevant to that state of mind.

The court found that the plaintiff had real prospects of success on the proposed ground of appeal, satisfying the criteria under section 14C of the Supreme Court Act 1986. Consequently, the court granted leave to appeal on that ground. The final orders included permission for the plaintiff to appeal to the Court of Appeal on the specified ground, with the appeal to be heard in the Court of Appeal.