Wilson v SAS Trustee Corporation (No 2)

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:	Wilson v SAS Trustee Corporation (No 2) [2021] NSWDC 840
Hearing dates:	18-22 October 2021
Date of orders:	20 October 2021
Decision date:	20 October 2021
Jurisdiction:	Civil
Before:	Neilson DCJ
Decision:	Application for disqualification is refused.
Legislation Cited:	Police Regulation (Superannuation) Act 1906
Cases Cited:	Calman v Commissioner of Police [1999] HCA 60
Texts Cited:	Nil.
Category:	Procedural rulings
Parties:	Plaintiff – Steven Wilson Defendant – SAS Trustee Corporation
Representation:	Counsel: Plaintiff – J. Morris SC w/ E. O’Neill Defendant – T. Ower Solicitors: Plaintiff – S. Gray & O. O’Donovan (Cardillo Gray Partners) Defendant – L. Doyle (SAS Trustee Corporation)
File Number(s):	RJ00258/2019 RJ00171/2020
Publication restriction:	Nil.

Judgment

1. HIS HONOUR: This is an application that I disqualify myself. The circumstances in which the application is made are these. The hearing of the oral evidence in this case commenced yesterday, 19 October 2021. The hearing of the case commenced on Monday, 18 October 2021 after I had conducted a call over of the Special Statutory Compensation List. The parties opened the proceedings by tendering voluminous documentation, exhibits A, B, C, D, 1, and 2. It was lunch time by that stage, and I suggested to the parties that it would take me some considerable time to read the documentation with which they agreed, and I then stood the matter over part heard to yesterday morning at 10. I, in fact, worked in chambers until about 7.45pm on Monday and until after 8pm last night reading documents that have been tendered.

2. Yesterday in his oral evidence which commenced to be heard at 10.25, the plaintiff at p 36 line 9 commenced his evidence about an event that happened in 1995 and continued through to 1996. The evidence concerned his taking a complaint by a woman who was the victim of domestic violence including sexual assault and for whom the plaintiff arranged an AVO to be taken out at the Blacktown Local Court. According to the plaintiff's evidence, he also tried to organise for her to spend the night in a refuge, but the lady refused to attend a refuge because of her desire to stay with her parents, because of cultural mores. She believed it was necessary for her to stay at home and look after her elderly parents. That evening, the alleged perpetrator of the domestic violence attended upon the complainant's premises and murdered her by disembowelling her.

3. The plaintiff gave evidence of having a sense of guilt, a sense of major guilt because of his involvement in that case. He believed that he had not done enough to protect her and said that as far as he was concerned, he should have forcefully taken her to the women's refuge rather than permitting her to stay at home. He also recalled discussing this event later when he was attending a conference for Peer Support Officers at Goulburn approximately 12 months later.

4. I interrupted the evidence that was being given to refer…