Kwinana pigment producer Tronox has gained gag orders against a former worker allegedly publishing confidential material online and making maliciously false statements.
But a WA Supreme Court judge on Friday rejected Tronox's bid to force Alex Cokic to take down documents already posted in an alleged campaign to cause reputational harm or financial loss to the US-owned group.
Justice Gary Cobby said Tronox had made a "deliberate choice" to not tell him about Mr Cokic's web page despite having "known about it for several months".
Instead, Tronox will have to wait until at least the end of March to see it if can secure orders forcing Mr Cokic to surrender material it claims he has kept since being ousted in August 2024.
And Mr Cokic showed no signs of surrender, describing himself as "whistleblower with ASIC and the SEC".
Mr Cokic asked Justice Cobby for orders that Tronox not destroy any evidence. "There is no intention that I destroy evidence," he said.
While Justice Cobby did not make orders against Tronix, he gained an undertaking from Tronox barrister Konrad De Kerloy that evidence would not be destroyed. "That is a given in litigation" Mr De Kerloy said.
Tronox lodged its writs against Mr Cokic last Friday and gained its first injunction on Tuesday without the former Tronox energy and compliance officer being told of the proceedings.
It was revealed in the Supreme Court on Friday that Mr Cokic is also involved in an ongoing worker's compensation dispute linked to more than three year's of work at the at the titatium dioxide processing operation.
The Fair Work Commission threw out Mr Cokic's unfair dismissal claim against Tronox in November 2024, saying he had missed the 21-day deadline for lodging the action and rejecting his pleas he had to attend to a variety of medical appointments.
Justice Cobby told Mr Cokic on Friday there was an allegation that he breached an order related to arbitration in the compensation claim.
The judge warned Mr Cokic he could be jailed or fined if he breached the Supreme Court order he not publish or destroy the Tronox material he possessed.
The judge rejected Mr Cokic's request his final hearing be put off for several months based on a letter from the doctor outlining a series of medical conditions.
"Several months is going to be too long to get your ducks in a row to deal with a case like this," Justice Cobby said.
Instead, the judge ordered an exchange of affidavits and submissions over the next two months ahead of a hearing on March 30.
Justice Cobby was earlier critical of Tronox's legal team for not sharing documents with Mr Cokic immediately before Friday's hearing.
One document related to a far quicker agenda for resolution and another related to a strengthening of Tronox's interim injunction. "I am not prepared to make a final injunction," Justice Cobby said.
