By: Cheryl Phillips, Matthew Elson and Beljana Dally B P v K R & ANOR [2025] SASC 58 At a glance The Supreme Court of South Australia awarded the applicant $400,000 in general damages arising from sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of two respondents during her formative and adult years. This matter will […]
Wotton Kearney continues to build momentum in its government team with the appointment of Special Counsel, Kirsty Easdale, a seasoned employment and industrial relations expert with more than a decade of experience advising Commonwealth government agencies. Kirsty joins the firm from MinterEllison, bringing significant expertise in complex employment law, industrial relations strategy, discrimination, and work […]
Wotton Kearney announces the appointment of experienced government litigator John McPherson as Special Counsel in its Canberra office, reinforcing the firm’s expanding national government practice. With over 15 years advising Commonwealth agencies and commercial clients, John joins the firm following extensive experience at Clayton Utz and MinterEllison, bringing deep expertise in public law, regulatory disputes, […]
By: Thomas Cavanagh and Gina Groskops Allianz Australia Insurance Limited v Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (NSW) [2025] FCAFC 8 At a glance The Full Federal Court has overturned the decision of Justice Lee1 and confirmed that Allianz Australia Insurance Limited (Allianz) was entitled to decline indemnity to Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust (NSW) (UCPT) for […]
By: Greg Carruthers-Smith, Gemma Burke and Maria Canon RC v The Salvation Army (Western Australia) Property Trust [2024] HCA 43 At a glance The High Court of Australia has allowed an appeal to set aside a judgment staying civil proceedings relating to alleged sexual abuse occurring in 1959/60. The death of the perpetrator and the […]
By: Richard Leder OAM, Sean O’Connor, Rhyse Collins and Deniz Coskundag Bird v DP [2024] HCA 41 | View previous article summarising the decision At a glance The High Court unanimously found that the Diocese of Ballarat was not vicariously liable for the tortious conduct of one of its priests against the respondent when he […]
At a glance This morning the High Court of Australia handed down three groundbreaking judgments in the institutional abuse space – Bird v DP, RC v Salvation Army (WA) Property Trust and Willmot v State of QLD. These decisions will have a significant impact on the ability of abuse survivors to recover damages and will […]
By: Jonathan Maher and Tushka Sridharan At a glance The Court of Appeal reduced the jury’s $1.1 million award of pain and suffering damages to $550,000, deeming the original amount “manifestly excessive”, aligning it with judge-alone awards in similar cases. The jury’s $1.3 million exemplary damages award was set aside entirely, with the Court of […]
By: Richard Leder, Samantha Saad and Michelle Rich Domenic Colbert (a pseudonym) v Trustees of the Christian Brothers [2024] VSC 309 At a glance On 13 June 2024, the Supreme Court of Victoria delivered its decision in Domenic Colbert (a pseudonym) v Trustees of the Christian Brothers [2024] VSC 309, dismissing the defendant’s application for a […]
By: Richard Leder, Georgie Austin, Blake Pappas and Bella Marazita The Federal Court’s decision in Lehrmann v Network Ten Pty Limited (Lehrmann case) serves as another cautionary tale for prospective plaintiffs who are tempted to use defamation litigation as a vehicle to challenge serious allegations of criminal wrongdoing in order to vindicate themselves. The Lehrmann […]
