VISCARIELLO v Macks (No 6)

The case of Viscariello v Macks (No 6) involved the plaintiff, Viscariello, and the defendants, Macks and George, with the additional respondents being the barristers who were subject to discovery applications. The dispute centred around the discovery of certain documents, specifically tax invoices, which the plaintiff sought from the defendants and the respondents. The matter was heard in a relevant Australian court, which examined the validity and scope of the discovery applications against the barristers.

The primary legal issue the court addressed was whether the plaintiff had a proper basis to bring discovery applications against the barristers. The court needed to determine if the plaintiff's claims regarding potentially unsubmitted tax invoices were substantiated and whether the claims of privilege over documents were properly before the court. Furthermore, the court examined whether the relevant documents should have been held by Minters, the law firm that briefed the barristers, or by George or the defendants as their clients.

In its reasoning, the court found that there was no reasonable possibility that the barristers had submitted tax invoices which had not been discovered by the defendants. The court also determined that claims of privilege over documents from the defendants and/or George were not matters for it on this particular application for discovery. The court concluded that there was no proper basis for the plaintiff to bring the applications against the barristers, as the relevant documents should have been in the possession of Minters, George, or the defendants. Consequently, the applications against the barristers were dismissed.

The final orders made by the court included the dismissal of the discovery applications against the barristers. The plaintiff was required to pay costs to the defendants and respondents for the dismissed applications. Additionally, the court permitted the plaintiff to apply for the costs orders to be between solicitor and client.