Beslic v MLC Ltd [2015] NSWSC 908

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Beslic v MLC Ltd [2015] NSWSC 908 Hearing dates: 19 June 2015 Date of orders: 10 July 2015 Decision date: 10 July 2015 Jurisdiction: Equity Division Before: Robb J Decision: The parties are requested to bring in short minutes of order Catchwords: EVIDENCE – advance ruling as to admissibility pursuant to s 192A of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) – plaintiff/applicant seeks advance ruling in respect of affidavit and expert opinion evidence – held Court may decide whether it is appropriate to give the ruling before embarking upon hearing of application to sustain the ruling – test is one of appropriateness, falling within the discretion of the judge in the circumstances of the case – premature for the Court to rule on appropriateness – because first, leave given to second defendant to file further report of expert opinion could remedy shortcomings – second, plaintiff did not precisely and informatively identify the rulings sought Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (UCPR) Cases Cited: Lambert Leasing Inc v QBE Insurance Australia Ltd [2012] NSWSC 953 Sydney Attractions Group Pty Ltd v Schulman [2012] NSWSC 951 Category: Consequential orders (other than Costs) Parties: Damien Beslic (plaintiff/applicant) MLC Ltd (first defendant/respondent) AXA Financial Planning (second defendant) Representation: Counsel: E Romaniuk SC/ M A Kumar (plaintiff)