Noumi's financial disclosure lawsuit highlights 'legal privilege' challenges
Noumi's ongoing court battle with ASIC is stuck on a document discovery battle that will likely influence what information companies choose to hand over during regulatory probes.
Discovery can be both a painstakingly dull and frequently exciting part of any lawsuit. Getting hold of the documents the other side has relating to the dispute is a crucial step in evidence gathering and helps establish the broad parameters of any trial.
Documents relating to legal advice are much harder to get hold of, because of what's known as "legal professional privilege." But challenges to that confidentiality claim seem to be on the rise and ever now and then, the legal- privilege claim is overturned.
This is what's happened to plant based beverage maker Noumi, which now finds itself at the centre of one such discovery dispute that is poised to influence how companies might voluntarily disclose information to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in the future.
"The law on privilege and waiver of privilege has not changed dramatically in recent years, However, we have seen more instances of claims of privilege being challenged, particularly in the regulatory environment, including corporate law and taxation matters," Holding Redlich partner Toby Boys said.
