I Cook Foods director Ian Cook has vowed to fight on, after his lawsuit against Greater Dandenong Council was summarily dismissed by a Victorian Supreme Court judge.
Meanwhile, Greater Dandenong Council said it hoped the “welcome and long-awaited decision” would draw the six-year saga to a close.
Justice Andrew Keogh, on appeal, agreed with the council on 12 September that the latest iteration of the ‘slug-gate’ case was an “abuse of process”.
The decision reverses a Supreme Court decision in 2024, which rejected the council’s bid to throw out the case.
The Dandenong South commercial caterer argues that it was wrongfully shut down by health authorities as part of an investigation into a listeria-infected patient’s death at Knox Private Hospital in 2019.
The matter has been the subject of two State Parliamentary inquiries and lawsuits against the State Government and Greater Dandenong.
“I will not give up my fight for justice,” Cook said after the latest decision.
“I will now have to somehow find the money to appeal this matter to the full bench of the Supreme Court.”
A Greater Dandenong Council spokesperson said the “welcome and long-awaited decision” comes after the council and its officers had been “unfairly hounded for years”.
“We have always denied all allegations of wrongdoing made by I Cook Foods and Ian Cook. Council and our officers have only ever acted in the best interests of public safety.
“In more than six years, there has never been a finding that our officers did anything wrong.”
The spokesperson said an “extraordinary and unjustified public relations and legal campaign” had been waged against the council.
“Justice Keogh’s decision today reflects that this latest legal action was unreasonable and an abuse of process. We hope the matter has finally drawn to a close.”
In its lawsuit, ICF alleged malicious prosecution by the council and two officers Leanne Johnson and Elizabeth Garlick in charging ICF and Cook with 96 food-safety offences that were later withdrawn.
It also alleged public misfeasance against the council and officers in their inspections of ICF and ensuing prosecutions.
In its submissions, Greater Dandenong argued that the lawsuit was an abuse of process – due to ICF and the council already reaching an out-of-court settlement for a previous claim.
Justice Keogh stated Cook had made a “forensic choice” to “keep his options open” – which was “clearly oppressive” to the council.
“The Council was required to defend the claim in the (earlier) ICF Proceeding, that was based on the same essential material facts, for almost two and a half years at considerable cost.
“Inevitably, the cost, time and resources that the Council will be required to expend in this proceeding will be a duplication of those wasted in defending the ICF Proceeding.”
Cook had held back the fresh malicious prosecution claim and agreed to the previous proceeding being dismissed without costs – while waiting to learn the fate of a separate claim against the State Government, the judge found.
In that earlier case against the State of Victoria, the court ruled that Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton’s shutdown of ICF was invalid due to depriving ICF of a prior opportunity to be heard.
However, Justice Michael McDonald found that Sutton’s conduct was not “recklessly indifferent” so didn’t meet the criteria for misfeasance. And damages were denied.
Meanwhile, in a separate matter in August, Justice Keogh upheld a Supreme Court decision to refuse ICF’s application for a jury trial against the State Government.
Cook said he’s written to Premier Jacinta Allan to ask her to allow him a jury.
“Labor has been appointing judges to the Supreme Court for the last 20 years.
“These things need to be decided by the people. That’s why I want a jury of my peers to decide my fate.”
