Glover v Fuller

Glover v Fuller is a personal injury case brought by the plaintiff, Jack Glover, against the defendant, Daniel Fuller, who was the driver of a speedboat involved in an incident where the plaintiff suffered alleged spinal, back and shoulder injuries. The plaintiff is claiming that the defendant was negligent in driving the boat in a manner that predisposed the tube to flipping and disregarding the risks to the plaintiff when this occurred. The defence to the allegations includes that the plaintiff's injuries were due to pre-existing vulnerabilities in his back rather than any negligent conduct by the defendant. The matter is listed for final hearing, commencing on 5 September 2022.

The defendant made an application for leave to serve expert evidence outside of the usual timelines. The application was initially pursued under r 1241(3) of the Court Procedures Rules 2006 (ACT) (Rules) but was orally amended during the hearing to seek leave under r 1401 of the Rules. The Court considered the relevant legal issues and concluded that the applicable discretionary test was what the interests of justice require. The Court considered matters relevant to the exercise of its discretion, including the importance of the issues, volume and character of the evidence, and complexity of the case, as well as the need for a proper explanation for any delay. The Court found that the interests of justice favoured granting leave to the defendant to serve expert evidence.

The Court granted leave to the defendant to serve expert evidence from the following: Mr Jeff Williams, aquatic event consultant; Associate Professor Paul Miniter, orthopaedic surgeon; Dr McGill, rheumatologist; and Mr Stretton, occupational therapist. The defendant was required to complete service of the expert evidence by 29 July 2022. The plaintiff was granted leave to serve any reply evidence on or before 26 August 2022. The costs of the application were to be paid by the defendant.