Why Steven May’s partner is suing the Demons

June 19, 2026 — 11:58am

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The partner of former Melbourne premiership defender Steven May, Sachi Dade, has formally launched Federal Court proceedings against the Demons, alleging club officials disclosed private information during a pre-season meeting with players’ partners.

The lawsuit, brought by Dade against Melbourne, football boss Alan Richardson and coach Steven King was before the Federal Court on Friday for a case management hearing, where lawyers for the club described the matter as a “novel course of action” involving untested elements of privacy law.

The proceedings stem from a Teams meeting held in February involving about 15 partners of Melbourne players.

This masthead has reported the online meeting was called after concerns emerged among partners following a police visit to May’s home, which preceded his retirement.

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There were no charges and the matter was resolved.

Then-chief executive Paul Guerra, King and Richardson attended the meeting, at which it was alleged sensitive information was shared about May and Dade’s relationship.

Guerra is not a party to the lawsuit.

Lawyers acting for Dade told the court they were seeking discovery of documents that could reveal how the respondents became aware of the private information at the centre of the claim.

The applicant is also seeking exemplary damages.

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During Thursday’s hearing, barrister Nicholas Petrie, representing Dade, argued the alleged privacy breaches occurred over a narrow period spanning February 4 and 5, and said discovery would help clarify key facts, including how club officials came to possess the information that was later allegedly disclosed.

Justice Penelope Neskovcin asked the applicant’s legal team to identify specific documents they wanted to produce, citing meeting minutes as a potential example.

Petrie said Dade could not point to particular records because a central issue in dispute was how club officials became aware of the private information in the first place.

“The applicant is essentially in the dark. There are known unknowns we would like to seek discovery on,” Petrie said.

Counsel for Melbourne, Richardson and King – Justin Hooper – argued the matter involved a legally novel claim and required careful consideration before a defence could be filed.

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The court was told there were three respondents with potentially different factual positions and that one of the alleged breaches concerned a Teams meeting attended by approximately 15 people.

Justice Neskovcin accepted the case involved some complexity but rejected the timetable sought by the respondents for discovery, ordering the parties to move more quickly towards exchanging documents.

The judge ordered the respondents to file their defences by July 24 and standard discovery by September 4, with the matter to return to court for a further case management hearing at 10am on September 11.

In April, Melbourne apologised for the pre-season meeting after concerns were raised about the disclosure of information relating to May.

The Demons have previously acknowledged the meeting occurred but have not publicly addressed the specific allegations now before the court.

The case is expected to test the scope of Australia’s emerging privacy law reforms and whether the alleged conduct amounts to a serious invasion of privacy.

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Sam McClure is an award-winning AFL journalist and broadcaster.Connect via X or email.

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