The shareholder class action,run by plaintiff law firm Maurice Blackburn,is seeking compensation for the value investors lost when the shares crashed,and argues Crown did not tell shareholders about the risks it was taking in China.
The Full Court of the Federal Court on Wednesday unanimously overturned an earlier decision to void confidentiality contracts between Crown and the 19 employees.
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The original decision,handed down in May,would have meant the workers could give witness statements about their activities in China and provide prosecution documents from their trials in China that could potentially provide support for the class action.
The law firm can still subpoena the former workers to give evidence at the trial,but will not be able to interview them beforehand to prepare for their appearance.
Chief Justice James Allsop said the approach Justice Bernard Murphy used in the original judgment – that the court could relieve someone of their obligation of confidentiality if it assisted the administration of litigation – was"impermissible and contrary to principle".
Justice Allsop pointed to the finding in A v Hayden that courts should use"extreme reserve in holding … a contract to be void as against public policy",and do so only when the contract harmed the public interest.