CBH sues former director Rod Madden

Australia’s biggest grain handler has moved to muzzle and sue a former board director after he allegedly divulged confidential information on radio and in emails. A writ filed in the Supreme Court reveals CBH wants an injunction on Morawa farmer Rod Madden, to stop him from disclosing information gained as a director. CBH also wants Mr Madden to “deliver up” any documents about CBH he acquired during his nine years on the board, and then delete or destroy them. The company has also requested damages, compensation, costs and “such further or other relief” the court “considers appropriate”. The legal action comes after Mr Madden gave an explosive interview on WA Country Hour on February 21, detailing his concerns about the company. CBH alleges that Mr Madden breached “confidentiality obligations”, and “made statements revealing information... confidential to CBH”. The writ said this included: Mr Madden, who farms at Morawa, resigned from the board on February 17 — four days before the interview on WA Country Hour on February 21. However, the writ alleges Mr Madden was still bound by a confidentiality agreement, or deed poll, when he made the comments on ABC. The writ reveals Mr Madden signed the agreement on February 27, 2014, after he was re-elected to the board for a second time. He after initially served on the board from 2006-2012, but was re-elected in 2014. The writ also said Mr Madden would be bound by the confidentiality agreement until “he is released by CBH or one of its group companies”. CBH said that in signing the agreement, Mr Madden had “agreed and acknowledged” that the disclosure of certain matters would “breach his common law and statutory obligations as a director”. The writ said the disclosure of information in the agreement could “cause commercial and financial detriment to CBH and its group countries”. CBH also alleges Mr Madden sent a “number of emails” containing “confidential” information from his CBH email account to a personal email account. It now wants him to “deliver up” any documents about CBH he acquired while serving as a director, and then delete or destroy them. Mr Madden was approached for comment but said he would not “say a word” on the matter. A CBH spokesman confirmed a writ had been lodged in the Supreme Court but declined to comment further. The latest ordeal adds fuel to a fiery few weeks for CBH, with its recent board election campaign marred by controversy gaining two new directors on February 17. It last month emerged that District 4 candidate Shane Carruthers, who unsuccessfully challenged CBH chairman Wally Newman, had lodged a complaint to the WA Electoral Commission. The complaint alleged that Mr Newman had provided financial information about CBH’s struggling Interflour business that only board members would be privy to. In an ABC interview, Mr Newman said Interflour was set to make a $30-$60 million profit, which he later clarified was meant to refer to earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, the other issue being that this type of information is only available to board members. The heat intensified a few days later, when it also emerged former board member John Hassell had lodged formal complaints about comments Mr Newman made about a woman at a grain event in 2017. Despite the controversy, Mr Newman retained his seat and released a statement saying he “acknowledged he had not always maintained” the highest possible standards, “in relation to the language I have used on rare occasions in the past”. Mr Newman said a third party investigator had investigated the matter and had voluntarily undertaken “personal coaching” to rectify his behaviour. CBH in December revealed a deficit before rebates of $13.3 million and a net loss after tax of $29.7 million for the year to September 30. The result was driven by a $119.3 million loss by its marketing and trading division and included CBH’s second-biggest harvest on record at 16.4 million tonnes.