Mid North Coast Local Health District v Hickson

The appeal concerned an application by the Mid North Coast Local Health District (the applicant) to administer interrogatories to the plaintiff, Ms. Hickson, in a personal injury claim. The applicant sought information relevant to a potential limitation defence, which was information solely within the plaintiff's knowledge. An interlocutory decision by a Registrar had allowed the interrogatories, but this decision was subsequently set aside by a judge in the Common Law Division. The applicant sought leave to appeal this latter decision to the Court of Appeal.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the judge in the Common Law Division had erred in exercising their review jurisdiction by setting aside the Registrar's discretionary order allowing the interrogatories. Specifically, the court had to consider the appropriate level of restraint to be applied when reviewing a discretionary decision concerning procedural matters, such as the administration of interrogatories, and whether the rule requiring "special reasons" for such orders had been correctly applied.

The Court of Appeal found that the judge had applied an incorrect standard of review, failing to give sufficient weight to the discretionary nature of the Registrar's original decision. The court held that the information sought by the interrogatories was crucial for the applicant to properly investigate and plead a potential limitation defence, and that the plaintiff's knowledge was the only source of this information. Consequently, the court determined that the Registrar's original order was a proper exercise of discretion, and the judge's decision to set it aside was an error. The appeal was allowed, the orders of the Common Law Division were set aside, and the plaintiff's motion to review the Registrar's decision was dismissed.