HARTNETT v TRUSTEES OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH FOR THE DIOCESE OF WILCANNIA-FORBES (No 5) [2024] NSWSC 148

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: HARTNETT v TRUSTEES OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH FOR THE DIOCESE OF WILCANNIA-FORBES (No 5) [2024] NSWSC 148 Hearing dates: 5 - 19 February 2024 Date of orders: 10 February 2024 Decision date: 19 February 2024 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Campbell J Decision: Reject the defendants' objection to Ms Margaret Dixon giving oral evidence in reply, subject to the scope of Ms Dixon's evidence being limited to topics raised in Sister Green's evidence Catchwords: EVIDENCE – course of evidence – evidence in reply – credibility rule – where the scope of proposed evidence is broader than the evidence it seeks to address – proposed evidence relevant for a non-hearsay purpose Legislation Cited: Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), ss 60, 97, 106 Category: Procedural rulings Parties: Albert John Hartnett (Plaintiff) Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Wilcannia-Forbes (First Defendant) Trustee of the Marist Brothers (Second Defendant) Mercy Support Limited (Third Defendant) Representation: Counsel: E Romaniuk SC with J Masur (Plaintiff) M Robinson (First Defendant) M Slattery (Solicitor) (Second Defendant) D Lloyd SC with D Stretton (Third Defendant)

Solicitors: North Star Law (Plaintiff) Dentons Australia Limited (First Defendant) Carroll & O'Dea Lawyers (Second Defendant) Mills Oakley (Third Defendant) File Number(s): 2022/288425