Davaria Pty Limited v 7-Eleven Stores Pty Ltd (No 9)

Davaria Pty Limited and others sought an advance ruling under section 192A of the Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) in the Federal Court of Australia against 7-Eleven Stores Pty Ltd. The applicants were plaintiffs in a class action concerning workplace health and safety issues. The defendants objected extensively to the applicants’ lay evidence, arguing that it was irrelevant. The parties were thirteen weeks away from the trial, and the applicants had not yet completed their lay evidence. The applicants requested the finalisation of the common questions in the class action or representative proceeding.

The court had to decide whether the defendants' objections to the lay evidence were valid and whether the common questions in the proceeding could be finalised. The court found that the defendants' objections were extensive and voluminous, but the objections were not so extensive that they precluded the finalisation of the common questions. The court also found that the applicants' lay evidence was relevant and admissible. The court concluded that the common questions could be finalised, and ordered the applicants to file and serve further affidavits by a specified date. The court also ordered that the trial be conducted electronically and that the parties confer to agree on an Electronic Hearing Protocol and a form of consent order.

The court ordered that the applicants file and serve further affidavits by a specified date and that no further lay evidence be served or accepted for filing after that date. The court also ordered that the applicants produce a list of documents provided to an expert on behalf of the applicants. The court ordered that the trial be conducted electronically and that the parties confer to agree on an Electronic Hearing Protocol and a form of consent order. The court reserved costs and listed the matter for further case management.

No further orders were made by the court.