Greater Geelong City Council v Giurina

Greater Geelong City Council, the plaintiff, has applied to the court to remove two caveats that Ermanno Giurina, the defendant, has lodged over certain property. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The first legal issue the court needed to address was whether the Council had established a prima facie case for the removal of the caveats under section 90(3) of the Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic). The second issue was whether there was a reasonable apprehension of bias that would necessitate the judge's recusal from hearing the matter.

The court found that the Council had demonstrated a prima facie case for the removal of the caveats, as the property was subject to a specific devise in a will, and the balance of convenience favoured the removal of the caveats. Regarding the recusal application, the court ruled that there was no reasonable apprehension of bias because the judge had previously heard an application concerning the same land but did not make any findings or decisions that would affect the current case. The judge's prior involvement did not give rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias.

The court granted the application to remove the caveats, and the defendant's objection to proceeding with the hearing on the same day as the recusal application was overruled. The defendant's objection to the late filing of an affidavit was also overruled, and the court allowed the plaintiff to rely on the affidavit. The judge made an order for the removal of the caveats and refused the application for the judge's recusal.