Stephanie Mortimer v Iain West (in his capacity as Deputy State Coroner)

The applicant, Stephanie Mortimer, sought an appeal against the decision of Iain West, in his capacity as Deputy State Coroner, to refuse to re-open an investigation into the death of her daughter. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria. Mortimer argued that the Deputy State Coroner erred in not applying the correct legal test when deciding whether it was appropriate to re-open the investigation, and that he failed to consider whether the interests of justice supported such a re-opening. The Deputy State Coroner had declined to re-open the investigation into the death of Mortimer's daughter, despite her request, under the Coroners Act 2008.

The court was required to decide whether the Deputy State Coroner applied the correct legal test when determining whether it was appropriate to re-open the investigation, and whether he erred in failing to consider whether the interests of justice supported such a re-opening. The court also needed to determine if the applicant was permitted to rely on an expert report before the coroner but not before the judge, and if the misreporting of the conclusion of the expert report could be rectified.

The court found that the Deputy State Coroner had indeed applied the wrong test when deciding whether it was appropriate to re-open the investigation. The court also found that the Deputy State Coroner erred in not considering whether the interests of justice supported re-opening the investigation. The court held that the applicant was permitted to rely on the expert report before the coroner, and granted the application to correct the misreporting of the conclusion of the expert report. The appeal was allowed, and the decision of the Deputy State Coroner was quashed. The court granted leave to appeal and allowed the appeal, following the decision in Hecht v Coroners Court of Victoria.