Cases and authorities

CRIMINAL LAW - sentencing - Crown appeal - robbery whilst armed with a dangerous weapon with wounding - application of guideline judgment.

Artificial insemination - Removal of human semen - Transplantation of human tissue - Incapable person - Brain damage - Absence of consent - Parens patriae jurisdiction - Nature and limits - Court consents for incapable persons - Discretion

Limitation of Actions - postponement of bar - where action "fraudulently concealed" - consciousness of wrongdoing necessary

EQUITY [340]- Mareva orders- Ancillary orders- Money traced to foreign bank account- Receiver appointed - MORTGAGES [80]- Receivers- Foreign bank account- Power to appoint.

JOINT & CONCURRENT TORTFEASORS - CONTRIBUTION - WHETHER CONTRIBUTION INCLUDES COSTS PAYABLE TO PLAINTIFF - LAW REFORM (MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS) ACT 1946 (NSW), s5

Criminal Law - application to set aside summary dismissal of application for leave to appeal - whether failure to set aside could or would lead to a miscarriage of justice.

Criminal law - sentence appeal - multiple offences - alleged failure to allow discount for assistance to authorities - sentence allegedly manifestly excessive - special circumstances - appeal allowed to adjust sentence to comply with Pearce - overall sentence not disturbed.

Criminal law - sentencing - drug supply but prisoner suffering from delusions and disturbed judgment - exceptional case - sentences not manifestly inadequate.

CRIMINAL LAW & PROCEDURE - sentencing - solicitor - failure to account - multiple offences - breach of trust - R v Hawkins followed.

Corporation - Statutory demand - whether genuine dispute between the parties - whether affidavit disclosed material facts.

Application for appointment of trustee pursuant to s15 Family Provision Act 1982 - Application for indemnity costs.

On admissibility of various warrants and reports under Listening Devices Act 1984 tendered on application for use of a pseudonym - Supreme Court Act 1970 s 82 - Evidence Act 1995 s 190(3) - T5546

Admissibility - evidence as to information in public domain - application for pseudonym order - T5549

Contract - Oral agreement - Whether corroborative letter was forged - Admissability of expert evidence - No forgery made out - Contract upheld

Justices Act 1902 Part 4 Division 2 Subdivision 6 (ss66A - 66H) - brief of evidence served out of time - admission of the evidence - duty to refuse to admit evidence sought to be adduced by the prosecuting authority in respect of a prescribed summary offence - extension of the time for hearing the matter - adjournment - prospective duty upon the prosecuting authority to serve a copy of the brief within time - (D).

APPEAL - appeal from final decision - appellant entitled to challenge interlocutory order - plaintiff applies to dispense with jury - order made - order not authorised - trial by Judge alone therefore miscarried - District Court Act s79A

Costs (ND)

Practice and Procedure - leave to amend summons - futility of allowing amendment - leave to amend to raise prima facie improbable case - application of Part 15A SCR to exercise of discretion.

Criminal law - sentence - murder - plea of guilty - intent to cause grievous bodily harm - intellectual and and personality impairment - intoxication - use of a knife - tragic previous life - Aboriginality - special circumstances

CONTRACTS [18] - General contractual principles - Offer and acceptance - Matters not giving rise to binding contract - Vagueness and uncertainty - Introductory - Commercial lease - Whether term so incapable of any definite or precise meaning that Court unable to attribute any particular contractual intention - CONTRACTS [120] - General contractual principles - Construction and interpretation of contracts - Other matters - Admissibility of extrinsic evidence - To show meaning of terms - Subsequent conduct - Whether course of conduct clear enough to show intention - CONVEYANCING [10] - Relationship of vendor and purchaser - Matters arising between contract and conveyance - Conditions precedent and subsequent - Other conditions - Condition of approval of form of assignment of lease by lessor and its solicitors - Ambit of matters to be taken into account in giving or withholding approval - ESTOPPEL [37] - Estoppel in pais - The representation - In general - Whether statement that lessor has given "blanket consent" or delegated right to consent to assignment to a subtenant a representation that there will be no future insistence on necessity for consent - LANDLORD AND TENANT [43] [44] - Covenants - Not to assign or sublet - Consent of lessor - Covenant which stipulates conditions which may be attached to consent to assignment to corporation but does not otherwise stipulate requirement of consent - Whether to be construed as requiring consent in all cases or whether term requiring consent in all cases to be implied - Other matters - Clause containing covenant against assignment or subletting but permitting same on fulfilment of conditions - Operation of clause - LANDLORD AND TENANT [88] - Termination of the tenancy - Forfeiture - Waiver of forfeiture - What amounts to - Whether statement that lessor has given "blanket consent" or delegated right to consent to assignment to a subtenant sufficient to preclude future insistence on necessity for consent.

EVIDENCE [64] - Admissibility and relevance - Opinion evidence - Expert opinion - Other cases - Handwriting - Whether evidence of psychiatrist with knowledge of characteristics of handwriting of persons with Parkinson's disease admissible to assist in decipherment of alleged testamentary instrument.

WORKERS COMPENSATION - injury - some years later death by suicide - award to worker's dependants if death resulted from injury - trial judge found it did - whether error in point of law - evidence of causal link - no error - discussion of cases calling for inquiry into worker's sanity at time of suicide - need for inquiry doubted - discussion whether s 14(3) of Workers Compensation Act can apply in a case of death by suicide - not necessary to decide. - WORKERS COMPENSATION - injury - award to dependants wholly dependent for support on worker - trial judge found child wholly dependent - whether error in point of law - worker obliged to pay maintenance - total dependency not incompatible with worker's wife in fact providing support - evidence on which total dependency could be found - no error.

PREROGATIVE WRITS - certiorari - whether error on the face of the record - whether jurisdictional error - appeal from District Court hearing of appeal from Local Court - increase of sentence - imposition of recognisance in lieu of fine - requirement to warn - ND

Motor vehicle accident - Failure to keep a proper lookout - Negligence - What constitutes reasonable care - Extent of duty of care

Practice - Cross-vesting - Transfer of actions from District Court - Transfer of actions to interstate Court - Criteria

Appeal against sentence. - Knowlingly concerned in the importation into Australia of prohibited imports, namely narcotic goods consisting of a quantity of heroin, being not less than the commercial quantity applicable to heroin. - Listening device placed within the consignment. - Possession of a firearm.

CONTRACT - whether termination of hotel management control was valid - term in contract empowering the defendant to terminate if it could not be demonstrated to its reasonable satisfaction that the plaintiff was of the same or better standard of operator as the operating company whose shares it acquired - required to act reasonably - opportunity to assuage doubts so as to retain benefit of contract - ESTOPPEL - whether estopped by conduct - no evidence of relevance

PRACTICE & PROCEDURE - Statement of Claim - summary dismissal - allegations of unlawful detention - validity of claims on their face - whether defendants the appropriate parties

Defamation - Capacity of the matter complained of to carry imputations pleaded

Contract - Rectification or trust - Need for clear evidence of intention and mistake - Estoppel - Need for clear evidence of belief and reliance

Application for reconsideration of issue decided, after reasons for judgment delivered, but before final orders - consequence of a finding of denial of procedural fairness - whether decision void - discretionary remedies - whether finding of denial of procedural fairness in administrative decision-making mandates granting of remedies ordinarily considered discretionary - no misapprehension of fact and law - notice of motion dismissed.

CRIMINAL LAW - drug trafficking - Crown appeal against inadequacy of sentence - error of principle - general deterrence - subjective considerations - manifest inadequacies

Administrative law - Mining lease - Statutory prohibition against granting of leases - Statutory interpretation - Mining Act 1992 (NSW)

Negligence - Personal injury - Duty of care - Forseeability - Failure of trial judge to consider expert medical evidence - Nature of injuries sustained - Damages

REAL PROPERTY - tenants in common - whether agreement to transfer interest was made - claim against estate of deceased person - trustees for sale of interests as tenants in common were appointed. EVIDENCE - estate of deceased person - knowledge of events not available to l.p.r. - dispute that agreement to transfer existed - credibility of witnesses - balance of probabilities - corroborative evidence - witness criminally convicted for dishonesty - witness' demeanour - irregular accounting records - consideration of approach to fact-finding and observations of Isaacs J in Plunket v. Bull - the plaintiff's claim to have made an agreement with his deceased business partner to release debts and take the business assets failed on the balance of probabilities.

COSTS - costs ordered in favour of a non-party.

Personal injury - Damages

Discovery

Contract - invitation to tender - repudiation by inactivity - lobbyist's entitlement to commission - maintenance of the basic conditions of the first tender proposal - departure between first and second tender proposals. (ND)

Contract of indemnity - implied contract - tacit understanding or agreement with contractual intent - Trade Practices Act s75B and s82 - objectively false claims for credit - liability of an officer - (ND)

Duty of Court to give reasons for decision - What constitutes reasons for decision

Whether certain documents are properly the subject of client professional privilege.