Cases and authorities

Waiver of client legal privilege; application for leave to appeal; further issues at trial on waiver; stand application over to await ruling on further issues and any further application for leave to appeal.

PROCEDURE; Security for costs

Particulars of defence of comment and qualified privilege; mitigation of damages; contextual imputations; capacity; form

Administrative Law; Retirement Village Industry Codes of Practice; Requirement of having dispute heard by Retirement Village Disputes Committee before having dispute heard by the Residential Tenancies Tribunal

Particulars of comment & qualified privilege; Justification; Contextual Imputations; Capacity; Form

CRIMINAL LAW - confiscation of criminal proceeds - assets acquired through involvement in serious crime-related activity involving indictable offence - standard of proof required by Criminal Assets Recovery Act 1990 to obtain orders for proceeds assessment and assets forfeiture.

Particulars of defence of comment and qualified privilege; mitigation of damages; contextual imputations; capacity; form

Particulars of comment and qualified privilege; Contextual imputations; Capacity; Form; Cross-claim; Abuse of process; Defective pleading

Part 40 r 9(2) ; Set aside default judgment

Criminal Law - Sentence; Commercial quantity of ecstasy; Discount for assistance

Contracts ; torts; negligence ; breach of duty to take reasonable care; Supreme Court Rules Part 72; referee’s report; damages for loss of use of house

Strike out defence - summary judgment; will - mesne profits

Criminal Law; Goods in Custody; Oppression; 5,000 items

Fair Trading Act ; Summary Prosecution; Guilty Pleas; Mitigation

Criminal Law; Autrefois acquit; Dangerous driving; Negligent driving

Sentencing: murder: guilty plea; life imprisonment - criteria for imposing inflexible sentence of life imprisonment; "worst case", dangerousness, rehabilitation: Mitchell v. The Queen (1995) 184 CLR 333; The Queen v. Pickard (1988) VSCA 50; Veen v. The Queen (No. 2) (1987-88) 164 CLR 465 considered. Regina v. Garforth (CCA, unreported 23 May 1994); Regina v. Twala (CCA, unreported 4 November 1994) followed

Admissibility of Statements

GUARANTEE - discharge by breach of contract by principal creditor; GUARANTEE - whether principal creditor owes duty of care to guarantors

Application for stay of execution of judgment; trial judge ordered part payment only of judgment; insufficient reason for interference with trial judge's order but proviso added

Corporations - companies - amendment to constitution to authorise imposition of levies - whether binding on non-consenting members.

Stated case - error of law - errors of principle in exercising discretion to allow amendment - no question of principle

Indemnity costs

Directions

PRACTICE & PROCEDURE - dismiss proceedings or strike out statement of claim.

PRACTICE and PROCEDURE; summary stay or dismissal; want of prosecution; reversing Master, summary dismissal was refused on discretionary grounds.; delays were not inexecusable and were not attributable to abandonment of the claim

Contract - terms of oral contract - terms of Deed of Release - economic duress

CRIMINAL LAW - sentencing; appeal against sentence; whether trial judge erred in not allowing sufficient discount for assistance to authorities ; whether trial judge erred in not making allowance for absence of remissions within NSW Criminal Justice System when setting non-parole period

Damages; measure of damages in actions for tort; out of pocket expenses; damages for non-economic loss; prospective amendment of legislation; precedent; costs; Motor Accidents Act 1988 s79(1)

Subpoena to plaintiff to produce documents; Solicitor's files

Summary Dismissal - SCR Pt 21 rr 1 & 13 - SCR Pt 13 r 5

Assessment of Costs

Subpoena; Administrative Tribunal; Whether required to produce notes made by members in course of their deliberations; Public interest immunity

Plaintiff's subpoena to Department of Community Services

Imputations; capacity and form; joinder

De Facto Relationships Act 1984; Adjustment of interests in property; Respective contributions of each party; Business of cattle breeding and engineering business conducted on rural property owned by defendant before the commencement of the relationship; Subsequently those businesses were conducted through the vehicle of a company of which the plaintiff and the defendant were the sole directors and held equal shares; Parties resided upon that rural property; Respective earnings and income of the parties; Plaintiff was principal homemaker, whilst defendant was principal breadwinner

CONTRACTS; JUDGMENTS AND ORDERS; SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE; A deed relating to a unit trust, entered into in settlement of legal proceedings, provided that a certain contract be entered into, that certain payments should be in full satisfaction of all moneys due to certain unit holders from the trust, and that the trust release certain loan accounts. The most recent approved accounts of trust did not disclose such loan accounts, but draft accounts had been prepared substituting those loan accounts for another loan account. The deed did not provide for the surrender or transfer of the units of the unit holders who were to receive the payments. A contract was later entered into which was not precisely in the terms provided by the deed. HELD (1) that in the circumstances of the entry into the contract, the parties manifested an intention that it be performance of the deed; that the deed mainfested an intention that it proceed on the basis of the draft accounts; and that unit holders who had no money due to them from the trust would be ordered to surrender or transfer their units. Consent orders were made prior to the hearing which included some of the final releif sought by the plaintiff. The defendants sought to have them set aside on the ground that, on giving consent, they were mistaken as to their effect. HELD (obiter) that although the unilateral mistake would have been insufficient to set aside final orders, the consent orders were closely interdependent with matters still in issue, so should be treated as interlocutory, and could have been set aside.

DAMAGES - breach of warranty of authority - whether costs of suing the putative principal recoverable as damages; DAMAGES - causation - breach of warranty of authority - whether costs of suing the putative principal resulted from breach; JUDGMENTS - breach of warranty of authority but no compensable damage - whether judgment for plaintiff for nominal damages or judgment for defendant; COSTS - Calderbank letter - whether costs recoverable on an indemnity basis.

Damages assessment; professional negligence by solicitors; calculation of loss in circumstances where solicitors contended that it was not their advice which caused clients to give a mortgage rather than an unsecured guarantee.; Held: challenged assessment of damages correctly made.

Customs & excise - agreed penalty for breach of Excise Act; 1901 (Cth), s 61; Civil penalties - agreed penalty for breach of Excise Act 1901 (Cth), s 61

Mortgages [72]; Mortgagor's remedies; Judicial sale; Sale may be ordered in appropriate cases; Jurisdiction fully considered; In this case case dismissed on discretionary grounds

Limitations; Leave to appeal

Costs - whether to order costs of separate trial or reserve costs.

Consumer Claims Tribunal; Denial of natural justice - not demonstrated

Plea of Not Guilty; Sedntencing; Appropriate range; Discount for assistance to authorities; Prior good character and absence of convictions

Damages - no question of principle

Procedure [673]; Costs; Cost agreement; Barrister to receive 20% of monies recovered; Unenforceable; Legal Profession Act; Professions [151]; Costs; Barrister; Unenforceable costs agreement; Effect; Professions [172]; Lien; Claim on sum recovered by client for costs under Costs in Criminal Cases Act; Whether barrister has lien