Zehnder v Sell Lease Property Pty Ltd T/As Sell Lease Property

In the matter of *Zehnder v Sell Lease Property Pty Ltd T/As Sell Lease Property*, the applicant, Mr. Zehnder, brought proceedings against the respondent, Sell Lease Property Pty Ltd, alleging contraventions of general protections provisions and breaches of an award. The dispute concerned Mr. Zehnder's employment with Sell Lease Property.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether a subpoena issued by Mr. Zehnder, seeking documents from Sell Lease Property, was valid. Specifically, the court had to determine if the documents sought were for a legitimate forensic purpose or if the subpoena constituted an improper "fishing" expedition.

Judge Lucev reasoned that a subpoena must be directed towards obtaining evidence that is relevant to a legitimate forensic purpose. The court found that the subpoena in this instance was overly broad and sought documents that were not sufficiently connected to the issues in dispute. The court concluded that the subpoena was an attempt to embark on a "fishing" expedition, seeking to discover if a case might exist rather than to obtain evidence for an existing one. Consequently, the objection to the subpoena was upheld.