Qasim v Bird

In the case of Qasim v Bird, the plaintiff, who had previously been practising as an endocrinologist, faced suspension due to impairment and subsequently had his registration cancelled by the NCAT. The Court of Appeal upheld this cancellation. The plaintiff initiated legal proceedings against fifteen defendants, including NCAT tribunal members, barristers, and expert witnesses, among others. However, the plaintiff did not seek any relief against these defendants. The claim appeared to be one of negligence, but the defendants held immunity from suit, and the proceedings were statute-barred.

The court was required to determine whether the proceedings were correctly brought and if there was a reasonable cause of action disclosed against the defendants. The court also needed to consider whether the inclusion of the defendants constituted a misjoinder of parties and whether the proceedings could be summarily dismissed.

The court found that the plaintiff had not sought any relief against the defendants, and the claim in substance appeared to be one of negligence. The defendants, as tribunal members, barristers, and expert witnesses, had immunity from suit, and the proceedings were statute-barred. The court held that the inclusion of the defendants constituted a misjoinder of parties and that there was no reasonable cause of action disclosed against them. Therefore, the court ordered the dismissal of the proceedings pursuant to r 13.4 UCPR and removed the parties from the proceedings in accordance with r 6.29 UCPR.