Pierrot Song Pty. Limited & Ors. v Lee

Pierrot Song Pty. Limited and others appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of the primary judge. The dispute concerned the admission of fresh evidence on appeal, specifically statements made by witnesses after the trial which the appellants contended were inconsistent with their evidence that the trial judge had relied upon.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether to admit this fresh evidence. The court was required to consider the principles governing the admission of fresh evidence on appeal, particularly evidence that emerged after the trial and which was said to impeach the credibility of witnesses whose testimony was crucial to the primary judge's findings.

The Court of Appeal ultimately dismissed the appeal. The judges reasoned that the principles for admitting fresh evidence on appeal are stringent and that the evidence sought to be admitted in this instance did not meet the necessary criteria. The court found that the alleged inconsistencies in the witnesses' statements were not of a nature that would likely have altered the outcome of the trial, nor did they satisfy the requirements for admitting such evidence at the appellate stage. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed with costs.