Lamers v Lamers (No 4)

[2019] VSC 510

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF VICTORIA Not Restricted

AT MELBOURNE
COMMERCIAL COURT

S CI 2015 05124

ANDREW JOHN LAMERS	Plaintiff
v
JOHANNES ANTONIUS LAMERS	First Defendant
ORANA PARK PTY LTD (ACN 087 109 895) both in its own capacity and as trustee of the John Lamers Family Trust	Second Defendant

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JUDGE:	Lansdowne AsJ
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	27 June 2019
DATE OF JUDGMENT:	1 August 2019
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	Lamers v Lamers & Anor (No 4)
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2019] VSC 510

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PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – Leave sought to further amendment to statement of claim to add a further defendant – Whether objection is properly taken by existing defendants – Whether leave should be refused to add claim against proposed new defendant for being statute barred – Whether loss is sufficiently pleaded – Whether specific pleading is required of matters stipulates in s 51(1)(b) or s 59 of the Wrongs Act1958 (Vic) – Whether further particulars should be ordered – Leave granted.

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Plaintiff	Mr J L Evans	Oakleys Legal
For the Defendant	Mr D B Clough	Macpherson Kelley

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction and summary............................................................................................................... 1

Proposed claim against BRB............................................................................................................ 3

Proprietary estoppel claim against John and OPPL................................................................ 3

Proposed claim against BRB....................................................................................................... 6

Submissions........................................................................................................................................ 9

Defendant’s submissions............................................................................................................. 9

The claim is statute barred................................................................................................. 9

Pleading of causation and loss and damage................................................................. 10

Inadequate pleading of Wrongs Act requirements...................................................... 10

Request for particulars..................................................................................................... 11

Plaintiff’s submissions............................................................................................................... 11

The claim is statute barred............................................................................................... 12

Pleading of loss and damage........................................................................................... 12

Wrongs Act......................................................................................................................... 12

Request for particulars..................................................................................................... 13

Consideration.................................................................................................................................... 13

Is it appropriate for the current defendants to take these objections?................................ 13

Statute barred?............................................................................................................................. 15

Pleading of loss and damage.................................................................................................... 17

Wrongs Act......................................................................................................................... 18

Request for further particulars.................................................................................................. 21

Conclusion and orders.................................................................................................................... 22

HER HONOUR:

Introduction and summary

1. These reasons concern the plaintiff’s application made by summons filed 15 March 2019 to further amend his statement of claim.  The plaintiff (also described in these reasons as ‘Andrew’) commenced the proceeding by writ and statement of claim filed 30 September 2015.  The defendants filed their defence on 2 November 2015.  Thereafter the proceeding has had a long interlocutory history, including a series of discovery disputes and a previous application to amend the statement of claim (‘Previous Application’) which was partly successful. [1]  In these reasons I refer to my reasons in relation to that previous application as my ‘Previous Reasons’.  In accordance with the orders made consequent on the Previous Reasons the plaintiff filed an amended statement of claim on 15 March 2019 (‘Amended Statement of Claim’).  

   [1]Lamers v Lamers and anor (No 3) [2019] VSC 63.

1. Andrew seeks relief against the first defendant (‘John’), who is his uncle, and the second defendant (‘OPPL’), a company in which they are each shareholders and of which they are the two directors, relating to a dairy farming enterprise near Leongatha.  Andrew alleges that as a result of representations made to him…