Hornsby Shire Council v Valuer General of New South Wales (No 2) [2013] NSWSC 510

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Hornsby Shire Council v Valuer General of New South Wales (No 2) [2013] NSWSC 510 Hearing dates: 18/04/2013 Decision date: 18 April 2013 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Garling J Decision: 1. The plaintiff have leave to file the Third Amended Statement of Claim in the form circulated to the other parties on 20 March 2013 except for: (a) the deletion of the words "it was obvious to anyone walking on the Quarry Land that" in paragraphs 47(a) (1) and 56 (a) (1); (b) paragraph 67; and (c) the addition of the word "materially" before the word "inaccurate" in paragraph 66F. 2. The plaintiff to pay the costs of the defendants thrown away by reason of the amendments in the Third Amended Statement of Claim. 3. I order the plaintiff to pay the State interest's costs of the motion. Catchwords: PROCEDURE - motion to amend statement of claim - many previous amendments- late amendment sought -- no justification for additional amendments to statement of claim provided -- exercise of judicial discretion to allow or disallow amendments - parties must address issues in proceedings comprehensively and in a timely manner - overriding purpose of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 is not attained -no point of general principle Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 Fair Trading Act 1987 Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules Cases Cited: AON Risk Services Australia Limited v Australian National University [2009] HCA 27; (2009) 239 CLR 175 Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Hornsby Shire Council (P) Valuer General of New South Wales (D1) The State of New South Wales (D2) Brian Rushton Nicholson (D3) Alcorn Corbin Nicholson Pty Ltd (D4) CSR Limited (D5) Peter Charles Cunningham (D6) Representation: Counsel: J Lazarus (P) P Menzies SC / B Nolan (D1, D2 & D6) C Gleeson (D3 & D4) B C Beasley SC (D5) Solicitors: Storey & Gough (P) NSW Crown Solicitors Office (D1, D2 & D6) Norton Rose Australia (D3 & D4) Minter Ellison (D5) File Number(s): 2009/297428