Nash v State Coroner of New South Wales [2025] NSWSC 93

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Nash v State Coroner of New South Wales [2025] NSWSC 93 Hearing dates: 05 February 2025 Date of orders: 27 February 2025 Decision date: 27 February 2025 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Price AJ Decision: (1) The coronial inquest held on 29 April 1935 into the death of Mr Leslie Andrew Nash is quashed. (2) The finding made by the Coroner in the coronial inquest in relation to Mr Leslie Andrew Nash's death is quashed. (3) A new inquest into the death of Mr Leslie Andrew Nash is to be held by the NSW State Coroner or by such other Coroner as the NSW State Coroner directs. (4) The second defendant is to pay the plaintiff's costs. Catchwords: CORONERS – application to quash coronial inquest and order fresh inquest pursuant to s 85 of the Coroners Act 2009 (NSW) – whether in the interests of justice to quash coronial inquest – where the coronial inquest was held in 1935 – where Coroner found that the deceased died from bullet wound wilfully self-inflicted – whether insufficiency of inquiry – whether irregularity of coronial inquest – whether discovery of new evidence – where Coroner did not conduct post-mortem examination – where no ballistics or firearm examination conducted – whether presumption against suicide – whether a real possibility that Coroner's finding as to the deceased's cause and manner of death was erroneous – whether public interest in the cause of deceased's death outweighs finality of coronial proceedings Legislation Cited: Coroners Act 1912 (NSW), s 12 (repealed) Coroners Act 1980 (NSW), s 47(2) (repealed) Coroners Act 2009 (NSW), ss 3, 19, 58, 83, 83(5), 85, 85(c), 85(d), 85(e) Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), s 31A Cases Cited: American Home Assurance Company v King [2001] NSWCA 201 Bhattacharya v Hamilton [2000] NSWSC 102 Bilbao v Farquhar [1974] 1 NSWLR 377 Briginshaw v Briginshaw (1938) 60 CLR 336; [1938] HCA 34 Cecil v Attorney General of New South Wales [2012] NSWSC 1186 Commissioner of Taxation v Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd (2012) 250 CLR 503; [2012] HCA 55 Country Energy v Deputy State Coroner Paul MacMahon [2010] NSWSC 943 Decker v State Coroner of NSW (1999) 46 NSWLR 415; [1999] NSWSC 369 Director-General Department of Community Services v Crombie (Supreme Court (NSW), Harrison M, 19 August 1998, unrep) Ex parte The Attorney-General (1915) 15 SR (NSW) 355; (1915) 32 WN (NSW) 129 Herron v Attorney-General (NSW) (1987) 8 NSWLR 601; (1987) 28 A Crim R 353 Inquest into the death of Scott Russell Johnson (30 November 2017) Lacey v Attorney-General (Qld) (2011) 242 CLR 573; [2011] HCA 10 Mauceri v Deputy State Coroner [2017] NSWSC 545 Mirror Newspapers Ltd v Waller (1985) 1 NSWLR 1 Mutual Life Insurance Co of New York v Moss (1906) 4 CLR 311; [1906] HCA 70 R (Maughan) v Oxfordshire Senior Coroner (Chief Coroner of England and Wales intervening) [2021] AC 454; [2020] UKSC 46 R v Essex Coroner ex parte Hopper (High Court, Queen's Bench Division (UK), 13 May 1988, unrep) R v HM Coroner for Inner North London, ex parte Cohen (1993) 158 JP 644 R v HM Coroner for the City of London, ex parte Barber [1975] 3 All ER 538; [1975] 1 WLR 1310 R v Huntbach, ex parte Lockley [1944] KB 606 Southall v Cheshire County News Co Ltd (1912) 5 BWCC 251 Spiratos v Australasian United Steam Navigation Co Ltd (1955) 93 CLR 317; [1955] HCA 39 SZTAL v Minister for Immigration & Border Protection (2017) 262 CLR 362; [2017] HCA 34 Veitch v State Coroner [2008] WASC 187 Texts Cited: Ian Freckelton and David Ranson, Death Investigation and the Coroner's Inquest (1st ed, 2006, Oxford University Press) John Abernethy et al, Waller's Coronial Law and Practice in New South Wales (4th ed, 2010, LexisNexis) Paul Matthews, Jervis on Coroners (15th ed, 2024, Sweet & Maxwell) William Ramsay Smith, A Manual for Coroners: Being A Guide to Coronial Inquiries and Inquests in South Australia and Throughout Australasia and in England (1904, Hussey & Gillingham) Category: Principal judgment Parties: Peter Bernard Nash (Plaintiff) State Coroner of New South Wales (First Defendant) (submitting appearance) Attorney General of New South Wales (Second Defendant) Representation: Counsel: B Hart (Plaintiff) D Kell SC / J Davidson (Second Defendant)