CM v Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Armidale

The case of CM v Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Armidale concerned an appeal against a permanent stay of proceedings granted by the primary judge. The appellant, CM, sought damages for child abuse alleged to have occurred in 1976 at a holiday camp, with the claim against the respondent based on vicarious liability for the actions of Father Perrett. The primary judge had ordered a permanent stay, a decision made prior to the High Court's ruling in *GLJ v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore* [2023] HCA 32. The appeal was heard by Leeming JA, Payne JA, and Harrison CJ at CL.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the principles applicable to permanent stays had been altered by the decision in *GLJ*, and whether a fair trial of the primary allegation of child abuse was still possible, particularly given that most relevant witnesses were deceased. The appellants also sought to adduce further expert evidence concerning holiday camps.

The Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal, specifically in relation to the permanent stay concerning the claim of vicarious liability for the tortious conduct of Father Perrett. The court then made directions for the filing and service of a notice of appeal, a supplementary report from Father Dillon, and further submissions from both parties regarding this report. The court also directed the appellants to file an updated estimate of CM's prognosis. Crucially, the court ordered that the permanent stay did not preclude any application by CM to preserve his testimony. Liberty to apply was granted to vary the dates for submissions.