Bass & Bass

The parties in this case were a father and a mother engaged in parenting proceedings. The father sought leave to appeal from a decision of the Family Court, where the primary Judge had denied his applications to discharge a single expert witness and to adduce further evidence from another expert witness. The father's central contention was that the single expert had displayed bias against him in their report, which was used in the parenting proceedings.

The legal issues before the court included whether the father's applications should be granted and, if not, whether the court should grant leave to appeal. The primary concern was whether the procedure outlined in Division 15.5.6 for addressing issues with a report prepared by a single expert witness had been correctly followed. Additionally, the court had to determine whether the assertion of bias against the single expert could be adequately addressed through cross-examination of that witness.

The court found that the father had not followed the appropriate procedure for raising concerns about the single expert's report, as mandated by Division 15.5.6. It was held that the father's assertion of bias would be more suitably addressed during the cross-examination of the single expert witness. Consequently, the court refused the father's application for leave to appeal and ordered him to pay the costs of the mother and the Independent Children's Lawyer.