Lewis v. Hillhouse

The Supreme Court of Queensland presided over by Fryberg J heard the case of Lewis v. Hillhouse, No 2144 of 2004, where Terence Murray Lewis, the plaintiff, sought to hold Ian Bruce Hillhouse, David Alan Burrow, and the estate of Rick Glynn Whitton (deceased) accountable for negligence in the conduct of his criminal appeal. The case revolved around the alleged failure of the defendants, who were the plaintiff's solicitors, to properly argue a ground of appeal, which the plaintiff claimed led to the dismissal of his appeal and a 14-year prison sentence. The defendants sought to have the plaintiff's statement of claim struck out on the grounds of late service and the applicability of the Limitation of Actions Act 1974.

The court had to determine whether the plaintiff's action against the defendants was statute-barred due to his status as a prisoner under the Public Trustee Act 1978, which restricted his ability to bring legal actions without the Public Trustee's consent. The defendants argued that the plaintiff ceased to be under a disability when the Public Trustee discontinued management of his estate on 4 October 1993. They contended that this date should mark the beginning of the limitation period under the Limitation of Actions Act.

Fryberg J concluded that the statutory language of "undergoing a sentence of imprisonment" in the Limitation of Actions Act was clear and should not be altered to avoid what the defendants considered to be absurd consequences. The court found that the plaintiff remained under a disability until the expiration of his sentence, which included periods of leave of absence. Therefore, the limitation period did not begin to run until the plaintiff's sentence was fully served on 9 April 1996. The court struck out the defendants' plea of statute bar and ordered that paragraphs 1 and 2 of the defence be removed. The defendants were also ordered to pay the plaintiff's costs associated with the application.