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Pearson v Nepean Blue Mountains Heal District

Pearson v Nepean Blue Mountains Heal District

Case [2020] NSWSC 1278 18 September 2020

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Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Pearson v Nepean Blue Mountains Heal District [2020] NSWSC 1278
Hearing dates: 5 August 2020
Date of orders: 18 September 2020
Decision date: 18 September 2020
Jurisdiction: Common Law
Before: Harrison AsJ
Decision:
The Court orders that:
(1) The decision of the Registrar dated 20 April 2020 is set aside.
(2) In lieu, I order that the compensation to relatives claim and the nervous shock claims be transferred from the District Court to this Court.
(3) Costs are costs in the cause.

Catchwords:
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – Judicial review – Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) r 49.19 – Review of Registrar’s decision not to transfer proceedings from the District Court to Supreme Court

Legislation Cited:
Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW), s 140
Compensation to Relatives Act 1897 (NSW)
Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), rr 49.19, 49.20

Cases Cited:
Boral Bricks Pty Ltd v Cosmidis; BoralBricks Pty Ltd v DM & BP Wiskich Pty Ltd [2013] NSWCA 443
Coote v Kelly [2016] NSWSC 1447
De Sales v Ingrilli (2002) 212 CLR 338; (2002) 193 ALR 130
Dodd v Wentworth Community Housing Limited [2017] NSWSC 1424
General Steel Industries Inc v New South Wales (1967) 40 ALJR 464
Griffiths v Kerkemeyer (1977) 139 CLR 16; (1977) 15 ALR 387
Lazare vCity of Sydney Council and Others [2015] NSWSC 1456
Nguyen v Nguyen (1990) 169 CLR 245
Portal Software International Pty Ltd v Bodsworth [2005] NSWSC 115
Scott Anthony Highland v Yarrahabi Holdings Community House Inc [2020] NSWSC 12
Scott Anthony Highland v Yarrahapinni Holdings Community House Inc [2020] NSWSC 12
Solarus Projects Pty Ltd v Vero Insurance Ltd [2013] NSWSC 328
Tauri v Janlin Circuses Pty Ltd (t/as Stardust Circus) [2017] NSWSC 1337
Tomko v Palasty(No 2) [2007] NSWCA 369

Category: Procedural and other rulings
Parties: Robert Pearson (First Plaintiff)
Elizabeth Pearson (Second Plaintiff)
Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District (First Defendant)
Western Sydney Local Health District (Second Defendant)
Ronald Chin (Third Defendant)
Peter Flynn (Fourth Defendant)
Representation:
Counsel:
M Daley (Plaintiffs)
A Horvath (Defendants)
Solicitors:
Brydens Lawyers (Plaintiffs)
Makinson d’Apice Lawyers (Defendants)

File Number(s): 2019/371046
Publication restriction: Nil

Judgment

HER HONOUR: This judgment concerns a review of a registrar’s decision not to transfer proceedings from the District Court to this Court.
By notice of motion filed 15 May 2020, the plaintiffs seek firstly, an order pursuant to rr 49.19 and 49.20 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) (“UCPR”) that the decision of Registrar Jones (“the Registrar”) dated 20 April 2020 be reviewed; and secondly, that the decision be set aside, varied or discharged and in lieu thereof that the Court order that proceedings 2018/164495, 2018/164504 and 2018/164490 be transferred from the District Court to the Supreme Court pursuant to s 140 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW).
The first and second plaintiffs are Robert and Elizabeth Pearson. The first defendant is the Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District (“Nepean”). The second defendant…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Pearson v Nepean Blue Mountains Heal District

Details

AGLC: Pearson v Nepean Blue Mountains Heal District [2020] NSWSC 1278
Case: [2020] NSWSC 1278
Decision Date: 18 September 2020

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved a plaintiff, Pearson, who sought to transfer proceedings from the District Court to the Supreme Court. The defendant, Nepean Blue Mountains Health District, opposed the transfer. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, where the plaintiff challenged the Registrar's decision not to transfer the proceedings. The legal issues centred on the appropriate circumstances under which a case could be transferred from the District Court to the Supreme Court. Specifically, the court had to determine whether the Registrar's decision was in accordance with the law and whether it was open to the Registrar to decline the transfer application.

The court considered the relevant provisions of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) and the inherent jurisdiction of the Supreme Court to control its own procedure. It examined whether the Registrar's decision was based on an error of law or whether there was a reasonable basis for the decision. The court also evaluated whether the transfer was warranted due to the complexity, importance, or urgency of the case, as outlined in the applicable rules and case law. The plaintiff argued that the case involved significant factual and legal issues, which necessitated the expertise of the Supreme Court. However, the court found that the Registrar's decision was within the scope of their authority and was not an error of law. The Supreme Court upheld the Registrar's decision, holding that the application to transfer was not warranted on the facts of the case.

The court concluded that the Registrar was entitled to consider the appropriate forum for the case and that their decision was supported by the evidence. The Supreme Court did not find any error in the Registrar's assessment of the case's complexity or importance. Consequently, the plaintiff's application for judicial review was dismissed. The court emphasised the importance of the inherent jurisdiction of the Supreme Court in controlling its own procedure and the need for deference to the Registrar's decision unless it was clearly erroneous or unlawful. The case underscores the high threshold for a successful application to transfer proceedings and the importance of demonstrating exceptional circumstances that justify a transfer to the Supreme Court.

Orders