CM v Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Armidale; EM v Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Armidale [2023] NSWSC 1000

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: CM v Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Armidale; EM v Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Armidale [2023] NSWSC 1000 Hearing dates: 14-16 August 2023 Date of orders: 23 August 2023 Decision date: 23 August 2023 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Cavanagh J Decision: The proceedings be permanently stayed pursuant to s 67 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW). Catchwords: CIVIL PROCEDURE — Stay of proceedings – historical child sexual abuse – claims of negligence and vicarious liability on two different bases – delay – absence of critical witnesses and documents – whether the defendant's own conduct caused prejudice – whether the defendant can have a fair trial Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW), s 67 Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), s 63 Limitation Amendment (Child Abuse) Act 2016 (NSW), ss 6A(1), 6A(6) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005, rr 13.4(1)(c), 14.28 Cases Cited: Abdulla v Birmingham City Council [2012] UKSC 47; [2013] 1 All ER 649 Connellan v Murphy [2017] VSCA 116 Council of Trinity Grammar School v Anderson (2019) 101 NSWLR 762; [2019] NSWCA 292 DP (a pseudonym) v Bird [2021] VSC 850 Gorman v McKnight (2020) 19 ASTLR 181; [2020] NSWCA 20 Moubarak by his tutor Coorey v Holt (2019) 100 NSWLR 218; [2019] NSWCA 102 O'Callaghan v Trustees of the Marist Brothers [2023] NSWSC 432 Prince Alfred College Inc v ADC (2016) 258 CLR 134; [2016] HCA 37 Roman Catholic Trusts Corporation for the Diocese of Sale v WCB (2020) 62 VR 234; [2020] VSCA 328 SR v Trustees of the De La Salle Brothers (2023) 321 IR 441; [2023] NSWSC 66 Standard Chartered Bank of Australia Ltd v Antico (1993) 36 NSWLR 87 Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore v GLJ [2022] NSWCA 78 Walters v Cross Country Fuels Pty Ltd [2009] NSWCA 10 Category: Procedural rulings Parties: CM (First Plaintiff/First Respondent) EM (Second Plaintiff/Second Respondent) Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Armidale (Defendant/Applicant) Representation: Counsel: P. A. Tierney (Plaintiff/Respondent) L.V. Gyles SC and D Stretton (Defendant/Applicant)