Castafiore v Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (NSW)

Bianca Castafiore, identified in court as "Bianca Castafiore" for reasons of personal sensitivity and potential stress or embarrassment to her and her family, sought an extension of time to bring a defamation action against several defendants, including Tristan Bior, who is similarly anonymised. The plaintiff's application concerned six publications, including a student report and several documents identified in an affidavit. The legal issue before the court was whether it was not reasonable for the plaintiff to bring proceedings within the statutory limitation period, and if so, whether the application for an extension should be granted under section 14B of the Limitation Act. The court had to determine the meaning of "not reasonable" in this context.

The court found that the plaintiff had not demonstrated that it was not reasonable for her to bring the proceedings within the limitation period. It noted that the plaintiff had been made aware of the publications and had sufficient time to bring the action within the statutory period. The court emphasised that the plaintiff's reasons for delay, including the distress caused by the publications and her lack of legal representation, did not sufficiently justify the delay. The court also found that the plaintiff's application for amendments to her pleadings did not raise any issues of principle. The court struck out the plaintiff's original and amended statements of claim and granted leave to the plaintiff to commence proceedings for defamation in relation to two specific documents. The court also referred the plaintiff to the registrar for referral to a barrister on the Pro Bono Panel specialising in defamation for legal assistance.

The court dismissed the plaintiff's application to extend time for the six publications. It also struck out the plaintiff's original and amended statements of claim but granted leave to the plaintiff to commence proceedings for defamation in relation to two specific documents. The court referred the plaintiff to the registrar for referral to a barrister on the Pro Bono Panel specialising in defamation for legal assistance. The matter was stood over to the Defamation List for further directions. No submissions were made in relation to costs.