Weekes v Vandervelde t/as Molong Ready Mixed Concrete

The case of Weekes v Vandervelde t/as Molong Ready Mixed Concrete involved a dispute between the plaintiff, Weekes, and the defendants, Vandervelde trading as Molong Ready Mixed Concrete. The plaintiff, Weekes, sought damages for personal injury and loss allegedly arising from the defendants' failure to provide a safe working environment. The matter was before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, where the defendants had applied for an extension of time to serve an expert report in reply, following a previous extension granted to the plaintiff.

The legal issues that the court was required to decide involved whether the defendants were entitled to an extension of time to serve a reply expert report, whether the extension should be granted due to exceptional circumstances, and whether the opposing party's default was a factor to be considered. The court also had to consider whether the extension should be granted in reply and not as part of the initial application for an extension of time.

The court's reasoning and outcome involved a consideration of the relevant case law and principles of procedural fairness. The court found that the defendants were entitled to an extension of time to serve a reply expert report, given that the initial report had been served without objection. The court also found that the defendants had demonstrated exceptional circumstances, including the complexity of the issues and the need for further expert evidence. However, the court found that the opposing party's default was not a relevant consideration in deciding whether to grant the extension. The court made orders 1, 3 (excluding 3c) and 5 sought in the notice of motion filed 24 September 2021, granted leave to the defendants to serve a reply report by 21 October 2021, and dismissed the notice of motion in its entirety otherwise. The court also ordered that the defendants' costs of the motion be the defendants' costs in the proceedings and granted liberty to any party to list the matter before the list judge on 24 hours' notice.