A mining executive wants to sue his yacht club after the Dalkeith-based association revoked his membership amid allegations he was speeding in a 72-foot sunseeker boat.
Victory Metals chief executive Brendan Clark sued Perth Flying Squadron Yacht Club in the Supreme Court of Western Australia, alleging the association defamed him on social media.
WA Supreme Court judge Craig Bydder dismissed Mr Clark’s application for pre-action discovery on Thursday, finding he did not have sufficient information to start proceedings against the yacht club.
Mr Clark was aggrieved by what he claimed were false and defamatory allegations that his ‘Enigma’, a 72-foot Sunseeker yacht, was involved in speeding past the Aquarama, the Swan and East Fremantle yacht clubs in early February, according to Justice Bydder’s judgment.
The alleged speeding incident caused large swells which damaged boats, jetties and snapped piles.
Mr Clark was a member of the Perth Flying Squadron Yacht Club from October 2020 until March 2026, when he was removed from the association.
The Enigma speeding allegation has been repeated and republished on a number of social media platforms and across the boating community in Perth, the judgment shows.
Mr Clark alleged the posts led to comments about him that were defamatory.
According to the judgment, Mr Clark believed the yacht club potentially had documents that could help him to decide whether he could start legal proceedings against the association and other parties involved in the publication of the speeding allegation.
Justice Bydder acknowledged the PFSYC received complaints from the other yacht clubs and its own members about the allegation but stopped short in granting Mr Clark access to the documents sought.
“I accept that there must have been communications internal to the defendant about the allegation, at least between members of its committee, because the committee had instructed Mr Deuble to contact the plaintiff about the allegation,” he said in his judgment.
“However, the evidence does not support an inference that those communications may have been defamatory communications about the plaintiff.”
In his judgment, Justice Bydder said a mere suspicion was not enough for the court to exercise its discretion.
“Having carefully considered all the circumstances, including the matters specifically relied on by counsel for the plaintiff, I have concluded that the evidence provides no tangible backing or objective foundation that takes the existence of a cause of action against the defendant beyond a mere allegation, suspicion or assertion,” he said.
“The orders sought in the originating summons go well beyond seeking documents that may assist the plaintiff in deciding whether to commence proceedings against the defendant and are disproportionate to that objective.
“They reflect the plaintiff's wish to take proceedings against the defendant and any other potential defendants involved in the publication of the allegation.”
Mr Clark engaged Martin Bennett as his legal representation, while the yacht club was represented by Michael Bruce.
