Schmid v Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (Transfer of Proceeding) [2024] FCA 1061

Federal Court of Australia

Schmid v Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (Transfer of Proceeding) [2024] FCA 1061 File number: NSD 359 of 2024

Judgment of: PERRAM J

Date of judgment: 11 September 2024

Date of publication of reasons: 12 September 2024

Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – application for transfer of proceeding to Victorian registry – nexus to Victoria and New South Wales

Division: General Division

Registry: New South Wales

National Practice Area: Administrative and Constitutional Law and Human Rights

Number of paragraphs: 9

Date of hearing: 11 September 2024

Counsel for the Applicant: Ms R Kumar

Solicitor for the Applicant: Dowson Turco Lawyers

Solicitor for the Respondent: Ms B Bailey of Wotton + Kearney

ORDERS NSD 359 of 2024

BETWEEN: BERND SCHMID Applicant

AND: ROYAL AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND COLLEGE OF OBSTETRICIANS AND GYNAECOLOGISTS Respondent

order made by: PERRAM J DATE OF ORDER: 11 SEPTEMBER 2024

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

1. This proceeding be transferred to the Victorian registry of the Federal Court of Australia from the New South Wales registry. Note: Entry of orders is dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

(REVISED FROM TRANSCRIPT)

PERRAM J: 1 This is an application to transfer proceedings from the New South Wales registry of this court to the Victorian registry of this court. 2 The proceedings have no connection with New South Wales, apart from the fact that the applicant's solicitors and counsel are located in Sydney and that the applicant intends to call one witness who is resident in New South Wales. 3 The respondent's lawyers are in Melbourne, although they do have an office in Sydney. Whilst the respondent did not give affidavit evidence of the witnesses it intended to call, the tenor of its evidence, aided by the submissions of its solicitors, persuade me that it is very likely that the respondent will be calling several witnesses who are resident in Victoria. 4 The applicant proposes to call at this stage four witnesses located in Queensland, and a witness who is located in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. As I have mentioned, he also proposes to call a witness who is in New South Wales. 5 The subject matter of the litigation concerns certain examinations which the applicant undertook. It is not in dispute on the present application that some of those examinations were undertaken in Melbourne and some of them were undertaken in Brisbane. 6 An additional matter relevant to the disposition of the present application is that the applicant has been without work in the recent past and is, if I might put it this way, short of funds. The burden of that argument is to underscore the expense that would be involved for him in having to transport his lawyers from Sydney to Melbourne if the proceedings were to be conducted there. I have in mind there not only the transport of them for case management hearings, perhaps, but also the possibility that they may need to be accommodated during any trial period. Against that, it may be observed that the applicant is, in any event, already going to have to fly witnesses from Queensland to Sydney if the proceeding remains here, and also undertake the probably not insignificant cost of transporting a professor from Amsterdam to Sydney and accommodating him upon his arrival. 7 It was not suggested by the applicant that these proceedings should be transferred to the Queensland registry of the court, and the choice therefore is one between the New South Wales registry, which I am satisfied this proceeding has no connection with, and the Melbourne registry, where at least it can be said a number of the respondent's witnesses are located. 8 I accept the applicant's point in relation to cost. However, it seems to me that this proceeding has a much closer connection to Victoria than it has to New South Wales, and the overall benefit to everyone would be served by transferring this proceeding to the Victorian registry. 9 Accordingly, the order I will make is the proceeding be transferred to the Victorian registry of the Federal Court from the New South Wales registry. I certify that the preceding nine (9) numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Judgment of the Honourable Justice Perram.