Tim Barr Pty Ltd v Narui Gold Coast Pty Ltd

The case involved Tim Barr Pty Ltd as the plaintiff and Narui Gold Coast Pty Ltd as the defendant. The dispute centred on the admissibility of hearsay evidence in the form of a representation made by the company secretary of the defendant. The matter was heard in the Federal Court of Australia. The plaintiff sought to rely on the representation as an admission by the defendant, contending it was admissible under the hearsay exception outlined in section 87 of the Evidence Act 1995 (Cth). The defendant, on the other hand, argued that the representation was not an admission by the company and therefore inadmissible.

The court needed to decide whether the representation made by the company secretary, who was also the defendant's employee, could be taken as an admission by the defendant. The key issue was whether the company secretary, in making the representation, was acting within the scope of his implied authority such that the representation could be attributed to the defendant. Additionally, the court had to determine if the company secretary could be considered an "employee" for the purposes of section 87 of the Evidence Act. The court considered the nature and extent of the implied authority of the company secretary in making such representations.

The court found that the representation made by the company secretary could indeed be considered an admission by the defendant, as the company secretary was acting within the scope of his implied authority when making the statement. The court reasoned that the company secretary, by virtue of his position, was sufficiently connected to the defendant company to allow the representation to be attributed to the defendant. Furthermore, the court held that the term "employee" in section 87 of the Evidence Act included the role of a company secretary, thereby permitting the hearsay exception to apply. Consequently, the court admitted the hearsay evidence into the proceedings. The court's decision allowed the plaintiff to rely on the representation as an admission by the defendant, which was pivotal to the outcome of the case.