Milkins v Dioceses of Sale Catholic Education Ltd (St Joseph's Primary School Wonthaggi) (No 2)

In the Federal Court, Milkins brought a claim against the Diocese of Sale Catholic Education Ltd, which operates St Joseph’s Primary School in Wonthaggi, for personal injury and loss arising from the defendant's alleged negligence. The defendant applied to strike out certain parts of the amended statement of claim, arguing that they were irrelevant and misleading. The court was required to determine whether the content in question should be removed and whether the plaintiff should be allowed to re-plead those parts.

The court examined the relevant pleadings and found that the content in paragraphs 13-19 and 32-45 of the amended statement of claim did not pertain to the cause of action. Instead, it was considered extraneous, potentially misleading, and not relevant to the proceedings. The court ruled that striking out these paragraphs was appropriate and denied the plaintiff leave to re-plead them. The plaintiff's legal representatives were instructed to submit any relevant submissions or evidence on whether they should bear the costs of the defendant’s application by a specified deadline.

The court made orders to strike out the identified paragraphs from the amended statement of claim. The plaintiff was not granted leave to re-plead the struck-out content. The plaintiff’s legal representatives were instructed to file and serve any relevant submissions or evidence regarding whether they should bear the costs of the defendant’s application by a specified time. The orders were made in accordance with Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.