Ultra Tune boss says recording made by ex-girlfriend contains ‘confidential’ information: court
Ultra Tune boss Sean Buckley’s lawyer has detailed why the car repair magnate doesn’t want recordings made by his ex-girlfriend made public.
The ex-girlfriend of Ultra Tune boss Sean Buckley secreted recorded information that is of “significant confidentiality” before their break up, his lawyer has told a court.
Bikini model Jennifer Cruz Cole is locked in a court fight with ex-partner and car repair magnate Mr Buckley over recordings that allegedly portray her being attacked by him.
Mr Buckley launched civil legal proceedings in February this year in a bid to stop the recordings from becoming public and he wants them destroyed.
Ex-employee Anthony Swords worked for a stud farm owned by the Ultra Tune boss and is also accused of having copies of the recordings and sharing them.
Mr Buckley’s lawyer John Searle said both Ms Cole and Mr Swords had not shared what the recordings were and who they were distributed to despite repeated requests.
“The defendants continue to play a game of cat and mouse,” the lawyer told the Supreme Court of Victoria on Wednesday.
The lawyer said he wanted a list of recordings and who they were sent to, which included media organisations.
He accused the pair of playing “hide and seek” with the documents and withholding the information.
The 34-year-old bikini model made secret recordings of the multi-millionaire businessman during their relationship and they contained issues of “significant confidentiality”, Mr Searle said.
He also claimed Mr Swords’ lawyer tried to get the contents of the tape in the public domain by filing documents which should have been redacted.
But the opposing lawyer Boris Pogoriller disputed this and said a lot of the recordings were already out and had been for months.
He later agreed to have some of the documents marked as confidential so it could not be accessed by other parties.
Ms Cole and Mr Buckley, who share a daughter, broke up in December 2020 after three years together.
However in January this year the Ultra Tune boss found out his ex-partner made multiple secret recordings of their conversations, according to court documents.
The boss wants to stop the tapes from ever being released and has alleged recording the conversations is in breach of the Surveillance and Devices Act.
The 61-year-old entrepreneur founded the Ultra Tune empire in 1979 and the company now has more than 270 franchises that turn over $220 million annually.
Neither Ms Cole, Mr Swords or Mr Buckley appeared in court for the hearing on Wednesday.
The matter will return to court later this month.