Theodorelos v Nexus Projects Pty Ltd

In the case of Theodorelos v Nexus Projects Pty Ltd, the plaintiff sought to serve expert reports out of time, an application that was ultimately the subject of an appeal. The plaintiff's application involved three reports, one by Dr Alexandra Viketos, and two others by Ms Judith Davidson and Ms Emily Knight. The dispute before the court was whether the plaintiff should be allowed to serve these reports outside of the prescribed time and, if so, whether the Master's decision to allow or disallow them was correct.

The legal issues addressed by the court included whether the reports constituted updates as permitted by the Court Procedures Rules 2006 (ACT), r 1241, and whether the Master had correctly exercised his discretion in granting leave for the reports to be served out of time. The court had to determine whether the Master properly identified any "extraordinary circumstances" that justified the delay, and if there was sufficient prejudice to the defendant that would warrant a refusal of the application.

The court found that the Master had correctly refused leave for the report of Dr Viketos to be served out of time because it did not qualify as an update under the rules. Regarding the reports by Ms Davidson and Ms Knight, the court held that the Master had failed to properly consider the prejudice to the defendant and that the circumstances did warrant granting leave for these reports to be served out of time. The court also noted that the failure to provide further submissions in light of the new evidence did not prejudice the defendant, as the hearing would be relisted.

The court's final orders included dismissing the appeal concerning Dr Viketos' report and upholding the appeal regarding the reports by Ms Davidson and Ms Knight. The plaintiff was directed to file an amended application to include Ms Davidson's report, and the defendant was to file a notice of appeal in a related proceeding. The appeal was adjourned for further submissions.