Ward v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore [2019] NSWSC 1776

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Ward v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore [2019] NSWSC 1776 Hearing dates: 4 December 2019 Date of orders: 13 December 2019 Decision date: 13 December 2019 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Beech-Jones J Decision: (1) Pursuant to s 67 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005, the proceedings be permanently stayed;

(2) Each party pay their own costs of the proceedings, including their costs of the defendant's notice of motion filed 26 June 2019;

(3) The defendant's notice of motion filed 26 June 2019 otherwise be dismissed. Catchwords: CIVIL PROCEDURE – stay of proceedings – application for permanent stay of proceedings – historical sexual abuse – alleged perpetrator died in 1957 – no material available in relation to allegations – whether defendant can meet the claims made against it and receive a fair trial – permanent stay granted Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 Evidence Act 1995 Limitation Amendment (Child Abuse) Act 2016 Limitation Act 1969 Cases Cited: Abdulla v Birmingham City Council [2012] UKSC 47; [2013] 1 All ER 649 Batistatos v Roads and Traffic Authority of New South Wales (2006) 226 CLR 256; [2006] HCA 27 Collex Waste Management Pty Ltd v The Waste Recycling & Processing Service of New South Wales [1999] FCA 787 Coorey v Holt (No 2) [2019] NSWCA 188 Moubarak by his Tutor Coorey v Holt [2019] NSWCA 102 Newcastle City Council v Batistatos; Roads & Traffic Authority of NSW v Batistatos [2005] NSWCA 20 Oceanic Sun Line Special Shipping Company Ltd v Fay (1988) 165 CLR 197; [1988] HCA 32 R v Carroll (2002) 213 CLR 635 The Council of Trinity Grammar School v Anderson [2019] NSWCA 292 Walton v Gardiner (1993) 177 CLR 378; [1993] HCA 77 Williams v Spautz (1992) 174 CLR 509; [1992] HCA 34 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Judith Anne Ward (Plaintiff/Respondent) The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore (Defendant/Applicant) Representation: Counsel: JL Sharpe (Plaintiff/Respondent) NJ Polin SC (Defendant/Applicant)