McMillan v Taylor [2023] NSWCA 157

Court of Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: McMillan v Taylor [2023] NSWCA 157 Hearing dates: 3 July 2023 Date of orders: 6 July 2023 Decision date: 06 July 2023 Before: Payne JA Decision: (1) Set aside the applicants' notice to produce dated 30 March 2023. (2) Refuse the application under UCPR r 33.13 for access to the file. (3) Costs of the application are costs in the cause. Catchwords: ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING – Court of Appeal – practice and procedure – documents sought under UCPR r 33.13 – judicial review sought against decision of Commissioner – applicants not parties to decision challenged on review – where applicants seek documents in Land and Environment Court file in aid of judicial review – where respondents claim documents are confidential under Land and Environment Court Act s 34(11) CIVIL PROCEDURE – case management – where documents sought would be inadmissible in review proceedings without respondents' consent – where consent not forthcoming – inconsistent with Civil Procedure Act Pt 6 to allow production Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) Pt 6 Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) ss 131, 131A Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW) ss 34, 34AA Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) rr 1.9, 33.13 Cases Cited: Campbell Taylor v Council of the Municipality of Woollahra (No 2) [2022] NSWLEC 106 Campbell Taylor v Council of the Municipality of Woollahra [2022] NSWLEC 96 Taylor v Council of the Municipality of Woollahra [2022] NSWLEC 1658 Category: Procedural rulings Parties: Julie-Anne McMillan (first applicant) Frances Ezra (second applicant) Jack Ezra (third applicant) Michael Hammond (fourth applicant) Lisa Stephens (fifth applicant)