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[2017] FCA 454
Federal Court of Australia
2017-05-08
Mr J, Perram J
Original judgment source is linked above.
Introduction 1 s 1782 of Title 28 of the United States Code is entitled 'Assistance to foreign and international tribunals and to litigants before such tribunals'. Amongst other things, s 1782 authorises the District Court for a federal district to order a person who resides in that district, or is there to be 'found', to give testimony; or a statement; or to produce documents for use in a foreign proceeding. The Applicants intend to apply under s 1782 to the District Court for the Southern District of New York for orders that three entities relevant to the present proceedings produce documents to assist them in the conduct of the litigation before this Court; however, they have not yet so applied. 2 The three entities are a French entity, Atos SE ('Atos') (which was formerly known as Atos Origin SA during the times material to the Applicants' proceeding in this Court), Jefferies LLC ('Jefferies') (formerly known as Jefferies & Company, Inc) and Global Payments Inc ('Global Payments'). Before applying, the Applicants have first applied to this Court for an indication that it endorses the Applicants in making those applications. For the reasons which follow, it is appropriate that this Court endorse the making of the applications. Costs of the hearing on 11 April 2017 will be costs in the cause.
Facts 3 The Applicants are former directors and shareholders of Pure Commerce Pty Ltd ('Pure Commerce'). Mr Daniel Lavecky, the First Applicant, was also its founder. At all relevant times, Pure Commerce provided currency conversion services to participants in international payment card networks, including the payment card network operated by Visa Inc and its related entities (compendiously, 'Visa'). 4 Starting in 2010, various regulators around the world commenced investigations into alleged anti-competitive conduct by Visa, in which it was said that Visa had sought to restrict the ability of companies such as Pure Commerce to provide currency conversion services to participants in Visa's payment card network. In 2013, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission commenced a lawsuit against Visa. The lawsuit resulted in a settlement in which Visa admitted that some of its alleged conduct had violated the anti-trust provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) and was required to pay a monetary penalty of $18 million imposed by this Court: see Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Visa Inc [2015] FCA 1020; (2015) 339 ALR 413. 5 In April 2016, the Applicants commenced these proceedings against the Respondents. They claim that at the time of the Respondents' allegedly anticompetitive conduct in 2010, they were in advanced negotiations to sell their shares in Pure Commerce to at least two interested parties. They allege that as a result of the Respondents' conduct, the proposed sale was derailed and that it was not until January 2013 that they were finally able to sell their interests in Pure Commerce. In consequence, they claim to have lost the opportunity to sell their shares in Pure Commerce in 2010 at a higher price than that which they ultimately went on to receive in January 2013. It is, therefore, a lost opportunity case. 6 The present dispute before the Court arises because the Applicants wish to apply under s 1782 to have Jefferies, Atos and Global Payments produce documents to assist in the prosecution of that case. 7 Towards the end of 2009, Jefferies was engaged as Pure Commerce's financial advisor in relation to a potential sale of the shares in the company. Jefferies is alleged by the Applicants to have provided valuations for the Pure Commerce business; to have identified a list of potential purchasers for Pure Commerce; and to have had extensive contact with those prospective purchasers. 8 Atos is alleged by the Applicants to have been one of the two parties interested in purchasing the shares in Pure Commerce in 2010. By April 2010, the Applicants say that Atos had conducted a substantial due diligence of the Pure Commerce business and had expressed an interest in purchasing the shares in Pure Commerce. 9 Global Payments is alleged by the Applicants to have been the other party interested in purchasing the shares in Pure Commerce in 2010. By April 2010, the Applicants say that, like Atos, Global Payments had also conducted a substantial due diligence of the Pure Commerce business and had expressed an interest in purchasing the shares in Pure Commerce. 10 The Applicants propose to seek documents from these corporations to buttress their lost opportunity case, using the procedure in s 1782.
The applicable principles of law 11 In a number of cases, this Court (and other superior State courts) have restrained the taking of depositions in the United States either under s 1782 or as an aspect of proceedings in the United States which this Court has perceived to be ancillary or subordinate to proceedings in this Court: see Sentry Corporation v Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co [1990] FCA 278; (1990) 24 FCR 463 ('Sentry Corporation'); Allstate Life Insurance Co v Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (No 4) [1996] FCA 1270; (1996) 64 FCR 61; Pathway Investments Pty Ltd v National Australia Bank Ltd (No 2) [2012] VSC 495 ('Pathway Investments'); Jones v Treasury Wine Estates Ltd [2016] FCAFC 59; (2016) 241 FCR 111 ('Treasury Wine'). The jurisdictional bases on which these anti-suit injunctions rest has varied over time, sometimes being expressed as equitable in nature, and at other times as an aspect of the Court's ability to restrain contempts or abuses of its own processes. More recently in Treasury Wine, the Full Court of this Court has suggested that the jurisdiction to grant such an injunction may also be connected to s 37M of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) ('the FCAA') as an example of the Court's ability to vindicate its own case management procedures. 12 This case is not, of course, about the taking of depositions under s 1782 or even about anti-suit injunctions. Instead, all that the Applicants presently propose is to seek the production of documents from Atos, Jefferies and Global Payments who are alleged by the Applicants to reside in New York or there to be 'found' within the meaning of s 1782. 13 An important aspect of the reasoning in Treasury Wine was the centrality of this Court's role, by means of case management, to bring about the timely and efficient dispatch of the litigation in its docket. In Treasury Wine, that centrality was found to have been threatened by the proposed deployment of a procedure alien to, but not beyond the power of, this Court's ordinary processes. This was the seeking of depositions. Its centrality was also threatened by the pursuit of that same course without first informing this Court of what was proposed: see Treasury Wine at 118 [47]. 14 To head off any application by the Respondents for a similar anti-suit injunction to that obtained in Treasury Wine, the Applicants now ask the Court to endorse in advance their three proposed applications under s 1782. In doing so, they accept this Court's endorsement may be subject to conditions. If this Court were to decline to give its endorsement, and the Applicants nevertheless approached the District Court for ex parte relief under s 1782, the result would most likely be the grant by this Court of an anti-suit injunction on the Treasury Wine basis; that is to say, as a vindication of this Court's case management role under s 37M(1) of the FCAA ('The overarching purpose of the civil practice and procedure provisions is to facilitate the just resolution of disputes: (a) according to law; and (b) as quickly, inexpensively and efficiently as possible.'). So too, if this Court endorsed the applications under s 1782 but granted that endorsement subject to conditions which were subsequently contravened by the Applicants, a similar result might reasonably be expected to ensue. 15 Consequently, by bringing this application for endorsement the Applicants have acknowledged, and do not seek to flout, this Court's role in managing the litigation before it. In that way, this case differs significantly from Treasury Wine - where the applicant had sought ex parte relief under s 1782 without notifying the docket judge in this Court that it was going to do so. Another material difference from Treasury Wine is the context in which the application in that case took place, viz, a class action suit which the Full Court acknowledged assumed particular significance from a case management perspective: see Treasury Wine at 116 [30] and 117 [39]. The most significant difference from the position of the parties in Treasury Wine is that the Applicants here do not seek the taking of depositions which Australian courts do not presently favour. 16 So far as the researches of counsel were able to show, there does not appear to have been a case where a party contemplating seeking discovery under s 1782 in the United States has first approached this Court for endorsement of the application. That such an application might be made was, however, explicitly adverted to in Treasury Wine at 118 [47] and in Pathway Investments at [6]. The question therefore arises: what principles should guide the granting of such an endorsement? The Respondents relied upon a passage in Treasury Wine at 118-19 [48] where the Full Court, apparently in speaking of an application for endorsement, said: 'It is neither necessary nor helpful to hypothesise upon the circumstances which might warrant such endorsement. We would expect them to be exceptional.' 17 There is a certain tension between these two sentences. I read the Full Court's observation as limited to an application for endorsement of a s1782 application for depositions. I would note that, even read that way, it is an obiter dictum since no such application was before the Court. In any event, the passage does not assist the Respondents on this endorsement application which is not for depositions. 18 Because the Full Court related the authority to issue an anti-suit injunction in cases analogous to the present to, inter alia, s 37M, it follows that endorsement will generally be granted on ordinary case management principles; that is to say, given the circumstances of this case, would it be useful from a case management perspective to permit the Applicants to apply for the documents they wish to obtain in the Southern District? If so, what conditions should be imposed? 19 Whilst it is unwise to be definitive about these matters in advance, the following matters are likely to be germane to a consideration of whether to endorse an application made under procedures such as s 1782: (1) What is the importance of the material to be sought under the procedure to the applicant's case? (2) Are there other methods available for obtaining it? (3) Does the material sought impinge upon or undermine some important procedural limitation in this jurisdiction such as, for example, the unwillingness of the Court to permit fishing expeditions or, perhaps, the general unwillingness of this Court to order depositions? (4) What is the cost involved in the process for the parties before this Court? (5) Is that cost a proportionate burden having regard to the significance of the material? (6) Is the proposed proceeding under s 1782 in the District Court frivolous or obviously doomed to fail? (7) How long might the applications take to resolve and what impact might they have upon the timely preparation of the matter before this Court for trial? (8) Is there any need to impose conditions upon the endorsement so as to address any issues arising from (1)-(7) above?
Conditions 38 I turn then to whether I should impose conditions upon the grant of permission. The case management requirements of this Court do not necessitate the involvement of the Respondents in the District Court and I will not require the Applicant to pay the Respondents' costs of any such foray. The Respondents should, I think, be put in much the same position that they would be if the Applicants were making an application under FCR 20.23 for discovery from a non-party. That rule does not require service of the application on the other parties to the litigation, but the electronic court file means that parties such as the Respondents would be immediately aware of the application having been made (unless it was for some reason subject to a suppression order). The rule also makes no provision for the right of another party to be heard and whether that is a useful course would generally be for the judge hearing the application to determine based on the circumstances of the particular case. In this case, the only condition that should be imposed is that the Applicants provide the Respondents with the proposed application and any material in support at least 21 days before its filing in the District Court. This will put them in a similar position to that which would have existed by reason of the electronic court file if an application under FCR 20.23 had been made.
Conclusion 39 I will make the following orders: (1) The Court approves the Applicants making applications for orders under s1782 of Title 28 of the United States Code seeking documents from Global Payments Inc, Jefferies LLC and Atos SE. in substantially the same form as those exhibited to the Affidavit of Jonathan Milner of 9 February 2017 on condition that any such proposed application be served on the Respondents at least 21 days before it is filed in the United States. (2) Costs of the hearing on 11 April 2017 be costs in the cause. I certify that the preceding thirty-nine (39) numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Judgment herein of the Honourable Justice Perram.
SCHEDULE OF PARTIES NSD 557 of 2016 Respondents Fourth Respondent: VISA AP (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD (ACN 134 885 564) Fifth Respondent: VISA INTERNATIONAL SERVICE ASSOCIATION
Lavecky
Visa Inc
[1996] FCA 1270
[2012] VSC 495
[1990] FCA 278
(1996) 64 FCR 61
(2015) 339 ALR 413
(2016) 241 FCR 111
(1990) 24 FCR 463