Skeers v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Newcastle-Maitland

In the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Skeers brought an action against the Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Newcastle-Maitland. The plaintiff alleged that he suffered sexual abuse at the hands of a priest during his time at a Catholic boarding school. The plaintiff sought damages for the abuse, which he claimed led to post-traumatic stress disorder. The defendants sought to have the action dismissed, claiming that the plaintiff's claim was statute-barred under the Felons (Civil Proceedings) Act 1981 (NSW). The central legal issue before the court was whether the plaintiff's claim for damages was statute-barred under the Act. The court had to determine whether the plaintiff's claim fell within the scope of the Act and, if so, whether there were any exceptions that applied.

The court held that the plaintiff's claim was not statute-barred under the Act. The court found that the Act did not apply to the plaintiff's claim because the abuse occurred before the Act came into effect. The court also found that there were no exceptions to the Act that applied to the plaintiff's claim. The court held that the plaintiff's claim was not statute-barred and granted leave for the action to proceed. The court found that there was no question of principle that required the matter to be referred to the Court of Appeal.

The court granted the plaintiff's application for leave to commence proceedings against the defendants. The court found that the plaintiff had demonstrated a sufficient probability of success on the merits of his claim. The court also found that the plaintiff had established that there were no substantial merits to the defendants' defence and that the defendants had not demonstrated any other grounds to refuse leave. The court ordered that the defendants pay the plaintiff's costs of the application.