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[2023] FCA 851
Federal Court of Australia
2023-07-26
Burley J
Original judgment source is linked above.
THE COURT NOTES THE UNDERTAKING TO THE COURT OF THE RESPONDENT THAT: (1) Within two days he will deliver up to AAQ any AAQ confidential information in his possession or control and the Jotform username and password; (2) In the event that there is no information in 1 to return, he will file and serve an affidavit to that effect within two days; (3) He undertakes to the Court and to AAQ that he will not use or disclose any confidential information of AAQ for his own benefit or for the benefit of anyone else.
THE COURT ORDERS THAT: (1) The applicant have leave to file and serve a further amended originating application substantially in the form served on the respondent on 13 July 2023. (2) The applicant pay costs thrown away by reason of the amendment to the originating application in order 1. (3) The amended interlocutory application filed by the applicant on 14 July 2023 otherwise be dismissed. (4) The applicant pay the respondent's costs of the interlocutory application, such costs to be payable forthwith. (5) The proceedings be listed for case management at 9.30am on 4 August 2023. Note: Entry of orders is dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.
1 INTRODUCTION [1] 2 THE EVIDENCE [9] 3 THE INTERLOCUTORY APPLICATION [12] 4 THE SUBMISSIONS [13] 4.1 AAQ's case [13] 4.2 The respondent's submissions [17] 5 CONSIDERATION [23] 6 DISPOSITION [55]
4.1 AAQ's case 13 The case advanced by the applicant as succinctly summarised by Mr Neil SC is that on or around 11 January 2023 the respondent purchased a subscription or licence for the online platform "Jotform" using his work email address. He was reimbursed for his purchase. He then used Jotform to create about 34 custom online forms to be used by AAQ in the course of its business between 9 January and 10 March 2023. During the time of his employment he did not provide AAQ with the username and password associated with the subscription. The respondent's employment was terminated by email sent at 6.04pm AEDT on 10 March 2023. 14 From 13 March 2023, AAQ employees were no longer able to access the Jotforms account. On 16 March 2023, AAQ contacted the respondent requesting that he provide the username and password. He responded suggesting that he and AAQ could come to "some terms" by which he would permit AAQ to use or access the Jotform account. The following day AAQ's solicitors wrote to the respondent, demanding that he provide the username and password, at which point he indicated that he had deleted all documents, data and information belonging to AAQ promptly after being notified of the termination of his employment. 15 In April 2023, Mr Le Roux inspected the respondent's work laptop. AAQ submits that Mr Le Roux's report indicates that on the day that his employment was terminated the respondent accessed the One Drive Cloud Storage of AAQ and downloaded various company files and data. At least three removable USB hard drives were inserted into the computer on that day and documents were saved to at least one of those devices. The respondent frequently accessed Cloud Storage accounts, including Google Cloud Storage, Dropbox Cloud Storage and Box Cloud Storage. 16 AAQ submits that although the respondent contends that he does not have any property of AAQ in his possession or control, it is concerned that this is not the case, a concern that is warranted in circumstances where: (a) the respondent has nowhere in his evidence explained his conduct in downloading various company files on 10 March 2023; and (b) his claim on 17 March 2023 that he had deleted all documents, data and information belonging to AAQ after his termination is suggestive of dishonesty, given that he had on the previous day sought to extract a price from AAQ for the access to the Jotform account.
4.2 The respondent's submissions 17 The respondent contends that the interlocutory order for inspection ought not to be granted. He submits that he has made several open offers to address all of AAQ's stated concerns, most recently by offering the following, on 18 July 2023, in order to settle the whole of the proceedings: (1) Within two days to deliver up to AAQ any AAQ confidential information in his possession or control and the Jotform username and password. (2) In the event that there is no information in 1 to return (which he says is the case), to file an affidavit to that effect. (3) To provide within 48 hours a written undertaking to the Court and to AAQ not to use or disclose any confidential information of AAQ for his own benefit or for the benefit of anyone else. (4) The proceedings be dismissed with each party to bear their own costs. 18 The respondent in the present application has made an open offer to comply with orders 1, 2 and 3 forthwith. 19 The respondent points out that on 20 July 2023, AAQ made a counteroffer in response to this proposal which accepted its terms save that additionally it sought that the respondent pay the applicant's costs of the proceedings. The respondent submits that acceptance of the offer, subject to costs, serves to demonstrate that the applicant does not have serious concerns about what information is held by the respondent, but simply wishes for its costs to be paid. 20 Furthermore, the respondent submits that the substantive relief that was sought by AAQ in its amended originating application was for the delivery up of any documents developed or prepared by the respondent for or on behalf of AAQ using the Jotform platform and any material and intellectual property created or related to the use of the username and password. The undertakings proffered in 1 - 3 above serve to provide final relief in this respect. 21 In that context, the respondent submits that the orders sought now, whereby a digital forensics expert is engaged to copy the entirety of the respondent's privately owned electronic devices as well as any and all cloud services that he may have used in the past far exceeds the final relief to which AAQ would obtain. 22 Finally, the respondent submits that the evidence reveals that AAQ in fact has the Jotform documents that he created during his employment and that to the extent any Jotform templates remain on the Jotform platforms, AAQ will have access to those when he provides it the username and password. The respondent submits that it was not until 14 July 2023, well after AAQ had collected his work laptop in April 2023 and months after Mr Le Roux examined and gave his report in May 2023, that AAQ significantly changed its case from being one primarily concerned with the use and retention by the respondent of Jotform materials and the username and password to one that concerned his alleged making of unauthorised downloads of AAQ information. He submits, however, that AAQ has not demonstrated that it has an arguable case in this regard.
Alzheimer's Association of Queensland Inc
Nabelsy