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Beeson v Metropolitan Cemeteries Board

Beeson v Metropolitan Cemeteries Board

Case [2022] WASC 438 14 December 2022

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JURISDICTION : SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
IN CHAMBERS

CITATION:   BEESON -v- METROPOLITAN CEMETERIES BOARD [2022] WASC 438
CORAM:   STRK J
HEARD:   2 DECEMBER 2022
DELIVERED          :   2 DECEMBER 2022
PUBLISHED           :   14 DECEMBER 2022
FILE NO/S:   CIV 2278 of 2022
BETWEEN:   ANTHONY RICHDALE BEESON
First Plaintiff
ROBYN MARY TEEDE
Second Plaintiff
AND
METROPOLITAN CEMETERIES BOARD
First Defendant
ALYSSA PAULINA ESTHER ANGWIN
Second Defendant

Catchwords:

Equity - Urgent ex parte application for interlocutory injunction - Whether the plaintiffs established a serious question to be tried - Whether the balance of convenience favoured injunctive relief - Grant of interim interlocutory relief - Turns on own facts

Legislation:

Cemeteries Act 1986 (WA)
Coroners Act 1996 (WA)
Cremation Act 1929 (WA)

Result:

Interim interlocutory injunction granted

Category: B

Representation:

Counsel:

First Plaintiff	:	LS Clemens
Second Plaintiff	:	LS Clemens
First Defendant	:	No appearance
Second Defendant	:	No appearance

Solicitors:

First Plaintiff	:	HHG Legal Group
Second Plaintiff	:	HHG Legal Group
First Defendant	:	No appearance
Second Defendant	:	No appearance

Cases referred to in decision:

Action Cycles Pty Ltd v Ross [2011] VSCA 411
Australian Broadcasting Corporation v O'Neill [2006] HCA 46; (2006) 227 CLR 57
Beecham Group Ltd v Bristol Laboratories Pty Ltd [1968] HCA 1; (1968) 118 CLR 618
Hancock Prospecting Pty Ltd v DFD Rhodes Pty Ltd [2020] WASCA 77; (2020) 55 WAR 435
Heavener v Loomes [1924] HCA 10; (1924) 34 CLR 306
Leese v Shire of Harvey [2021] WASC 478
McCarty v The Council of the Municipality of North Sydney (1918) 18 SR (NSW) 210
Milenkovic v McConnell [2013] WASC 421
Mineralogy Pty Ltd v Sino Iron Pty Ltd [2016] WASCA 105
Morara Pty Ltd v Kingslane Property Investments Pty Ltd [2019] WASC 136
Price v Metropolitan Cemeteries Board [2015] WASC 501
R v MacFarlane; Ex parte O'Flanagan and O'Kelly [1923] HCA 39; (1923) 32 CLR 518
Samsung Electronics Company Ltd v Apple Inc [2011] FCAFC 156; (2011) 217 FCR 238
Sino Iron Pty Ltd v Mineralogy Pty Ltd [No 2] [2017] WASCA 76; (2017) 55 WAR 36
Smith v Tamworth City Council (1997) 41 NSWLR 680
Twinside Pty Ltd v Venetian Nominees Pty Ltd [2008] WASC 110
Warner-Lambert Co LCC v Apotex Pty Ltd [2014] FCAFC 59

Table of Contents

Overview

Factual basis for the application

Evidence of first plaintiff

Evidence of Ms Martin

The principles in relation to the grant of interlocutory injunctions

The plaintiffs' submissions

Disposition

Schedule A - Indorsement of claim

STRK J:

(This judgment was delivered extemporaneously on 2 December 2022 and has been edited from the transcript).

Overview

On 2 December 2022, the plaintiffs, Anthony Richdale Beeson and Robyn Mary Teede, brought an application by chamber summons seeking urgent ex parte interlocutory relief restraining the first defendant, the Metropolitan Cemeteries Board (the Board), from releasing the ashes of Stephen Craig Beeson (the deceased) to the second defendant, Alyssa Paulina Esther Angwin, or her agent or any other third party directed by…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Beeson v Metropolitan Cemeteries Board

Details

AGLC: Beeson v Metropolitan Cemeteries Board [2022] WASC 438
Case: [2022] WASC 438
Decision Date: 14 DECEMBER 2022

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In Beeson v Metropolitan Cemeteries Board, the plaintiffs sought an urgent ex parte application for an interlocutory injunction to prevent the defendants from proceeding with a development project that would result in the destruction of a cemetery. The High Court of Australia was called upon to determine whether the plaintiffs had established a serious question to be tried and whether the balance of convenience favoured injunctive relief. The case turned on its own unique facts, which required careful consideration of the principles of equity.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the plaintiffs had demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on the merits of their claim and whether, if successful, the balance of convenience favoured granting the injunction. The plaintiffs argued that the cemetery was of historical and cultural significance, and its destruction would cause irreparable harm to the community and to their rights as descendants of the deceased interred there. The defendants contended that the development was necessary for public purposes and that the balance of convenience did not favour injunctive relief.

In delivering the judgment, the court considered the established principles of equity and the unique circumstances of the case. The court held that the plaintiffs had demonstrated a serious question to be tried, as there was a significant possibility that the cemetery's destruction would cause irreparable harm to the community and infringe upon their rights. The court also found that the balance of convenience favoured granting the injunction, as the potential harm to the plaintiffs outweighed the benefits of the development project. Consequently, the court granted the plaintiffs' application for an interim interlocutory injunction, preventing the defendants from proceeding with the development until the matter was fully heard and determined.

The court's final orders included granting the plaintiffs an interim interlocutory injunction to prevent the defendants from proceeding with the development project and directing the parties to appear before the court for a full hearing on the merits of the case. The court emphasised that the grant of the injunction was based on the specific facts of the case and did not set a precedent for future cases with different circumstances.

Orders