Ahern v Aon Risk Services Australia Ltd [2014] NSWSC 1697

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Ahern v Aon Risk Services Australia Ltd [2014] NSWSC 1697 Hearing dates: 24 November 2014 Decision date: 28 November 2014 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Button J Decision: (1) Dismiss the notice of motion of the plaintiffs of 10 October 2014. (2) Vacate the direction of Registrar Bradford of 30 April 2014 concerning the meeting of experts and provision of their report. (3) The plaintiffs must pay the costs of the defendants of the hearing of the motion before me. Catchwords: EVIDENCE - pre-trial application for exclusion of expert evidence - whether admissibility should be dealt with on an interlocutory basis by judge who may not be the trial judge - whether evidence complies with test for admissibility of expert opinion evidence - whether general discretion to exclude evidence should be exercised - pre-trial application for directions with regard to expert evidence - consideration of the role a judge should play in determining what evidence is presented Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW), s 56 Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) ss 76, 79, 135, 192A Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), r 31.20 Cases Cited: Makita (Aust) Pty Ltd v Sprowles [2001] NSWCA 305; 52 NSWLR 705 TKWJ v R [2002] HCA 46; 212 CLR 124 Category: Interlocutory applications Parties: Marshall Ahern (First Plaintiff) Estelle Therese Clancy (Second Plaintiff) Aon Risk Services Australia Ltd (First Defendant) Trent Uno Pty Ltd (Second Defendant) Leo Di Paolo (Third Defendant) Representation: Counsel: A J McInerney SC (Plaintiffs) J Watson (Plaintiffs) D L Williams SC (Defendants) Solicitors: Fraser Clancy Lawyers (Plaintiffs) James Tuite & Associates Lawyers (Defendants) File Number(s): 2012/203106