Legacy, Sensitive and Complex Claims

Articles, Case Alerts

Are prior circumstances a thing of the past?

By: Thomas Cavanagh and Gina Groskops Allianz Australia Insurance Limited v Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (NSW) [2025] FCAFC 8 At a glance The Full Federal Court has overturned the decision of Justice Lee1 and confirmed that Allianz Australia Insurance Limited (Allianz) was entitled to decline indemnity to Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (NSW) (UCPT) for […]

By : Joshua Weiler Feb 27, 2025 Comments Off

Articles, Case Alerts

Defendant bears a heavy burden in proving unfair trial for successful stay applications

By: Greg Carruthers-Smith, Gemma Burke and Maria Canon RC v The Salvation Army (Western Australia) Property Trust [2024] HCA 43 At a glance The High Court of Australia has allowed an appeal to set aside a judgment staying civil proceedings relating to alleged sexual abuse occurring in 1959/60. The death of the perpetrator and the […]

By : Joshua Weiler Dec 3, 2024 Comments Off

Articles

High Court rejects extending vicarious liability beyond employment

By: Richard Leder OAM, Sean O’Connor, Rhyse Collins and Deniz Coskundag Bird v DP [2024] HCA 41 | View previous article summarising the decision At a glance The High Court unanimously found that the Diocese of Ballarat was not vicariously liable for the tortious conduct of one of its priests against the respondent when he […]

By : Joshua Weiler Nov 21, 2024 Comments Off

Case Alerts

Breaking: Historic decision handed down by the High Court of Australia

At a glance This morning the High Court of Australia handed down three groundbreaking judgments in the institutional abuse space – Bird v DP, RC v Salvation Army (WA) Property Trust and Willmot v State of QLD. These decisions will have a significant impact on the ability of abuse survivors to recover damages and will […]

By : Joshua Weiler Nov 13, 2024 Comments Off

Articles

Damages update: Victorian Court of Appeal reassesses damages in historical abuse case

By: Jonathan Maher and Tushka Sridharan At a glance The Court of Appeal reduced the jury’s $1.1 million award of pain and suffering damages to $550,000, deeming the original amount “manifestly excessive”, aligning it with judge-alone awards in similar cases. The jury’s $1.3 million exemplary damages award was set aside entirely, with the Court of […]

By : Joshua Weiler Nov 11, 2024 Comments Off

Case Alerts

Stay applications in a post-GLJ world

By: Richard Leder, Samantha Saad and Michelle Rich Domenic Colbert (a pseudonym) v Trustees of the Christian Brothers [2024] VSC 309 At a glance On 13 June 2024, the Supreme Court of Victoria delivered its decision in Domenic Colbert (a pseudonym) v Trustees of the Christian Brothers [2024] VSC 309, dismissing the defendant’s application for a […]

By : joanna li Jun 27, 2024 Comments Off

Articles

A warning to other prospective defamation plaintiffs who escape the lions’ den and are tempted to go back for their hat – lessons learned from the Lehrmann case

By: Richard Leder, Georgie Austin, Blake Pappas and Bella Marazita The Federal Court’s decision in Lehrmann v Network Ten Pty Limited (Lehrmann case) serves as another cautionary tale for prospective plaintiffs who are tempted to use defamation litigation as a vehicle to challenge serious allegations of criminal wrongdoing in order to vindicate themselves. The Lehrmann […]

By : Anja Vogel Apr 30, 2024 Comments Off

Articles

The benefits of a trauma informed approach to sensitive claims: Advantages for all parties

It is well known that institutions have seen an exponential increase in civil claims arising from child abuse. However, with increased awareness and the MeToo movement, adult survivors are also finding the courage to make claims. For those of us who work in this space, much focus is placed on taking a trauma informed approach […]

By : Anja Vogel Mar 12, 2024 Comments Off

Articles

Accessing student and counselling records: Requests to educational institutions

Schools and educational institutions do more than just educate students. They provide support and assist with student welfare needs, such as counselling. Therefore, student records contain more than just academic results and attendances. So how should a school or educational institution respond when it receives requests for records relating to a current or former student? […]

By : Anja Vogel Mar 7, 2024 Comments Off

Thought Leadership

Year in review – major developments in abuse law

By: Patrick Thompson and Gemma Burke Close to 10 years after the Royal Commission handed down its final report, civil claims for damages arising from child abuse remain a contested, difficult, but important area of law. As more claims are advanced that push against the margins, obtaining clear guidance from the Courts is critical to […]

By : Anja Vogel Feb 22, 2024 Comments Off

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