Wells v Council of the City of Orange [2016] NSWSC 589

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Wells v Council of the City of Orange [2016] NSWSC 589 Hearing dates: 10 May 2016 Date of orders: 12 May 2016 Decision date: 12 May 2016 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Hoeben CJ at CL Decision: (1) Pursuant to UCPR 28.2 order that the following questions be decided separately from and in advance of all other questions in the proceedings: (i) Is the defendant liable to the plaintiff for the accident suffered by the plaintiff at Jilba Street, Orange, on the evening of 16 November 2009? (ii) If so, was the plaintiff contributorily negligent? (iii) If so, to what extent was the plaintiff contributorily negligent? (2) The costs of the parties are to be costs in the cause. Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – application by defendant for separate hearing of liability issues – application consented to by plaintiff – liability and quantum issues quite separate – likelihood of final resolution of matter if liability decided – considerable savings in time and money – application granted. Legislation Cited: Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) – ss 43A and 47 Cases Cited: Idoport Pty Limited & Anor v National Australia Bank Limited & 8 Ors; Idoport Pty Limited & Market Holdings Pty Ltd v Donald Robert Argus; Idoport Pty Limited "JMG" v National Australia Bank Limited [16] [2000] NSWSC 1250 Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Benjamin John Wells - Plaintiff/Respondent Council of the City of Orange – Defendant/Applicant Representation: Counsel: Mr A Johnson – Plaintiff/Respondent Mr H Chiu – Defendant/Applicant