Althaus & Anor v Australia Meat Holdings P/L & Anor

[2006] QCA 412

Queensland Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Parties
3. › Joinder of parties
4. › Addition of plaintiff after limitation period
5. › Whether r 69(2) UCPR prohibits joinder where new party's cause of action is not statute-barred but other causes of action in the proceeding are
6. › Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), r 69
1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Amendment
3. › Amendment after expiry of limitation period
4. › Whether new cause of action arises out of substantially the same facts
5. › Claims based on representations not pleaded in original claim
6. › Whether fraud and dishonesty claims arise from substantially the same facts as negligence claims
7. › Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), r 376(4)
1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Pleading
3. › Statement of claim
4. › Breach of confidence
5. › Sufficiency of identification of confidential information
6. › Whether pleading adequately identifies what information was confidential and not common knowledge
1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Pleading
3. › Statement of claim
4. › Breach of fiduciary duty
5. › Whether absence of pleaded facts giving rise to fiduciary relationship warranted refusal of leave

Quick Take

Rule 69(2) UCPR prohibits joinder of a new party only where the limitation period for the cause of action vested in that new party has expired; it does not prevent joinder merely because other causes of action in the proceeding are statute-barred. New causes of action based on representations and fraud do not arise out of 'substantially the same facts' as an original claim based on breach of equitable obligations of confidence for the purposes of r 376(4) UCPR. A breach of confidence pleading must identify with specificity what information was confidential and not common knowledge, particularly where aspects of the subject matter are admittedly in the public domain.