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These authorised law reports have been published in various series since the 1860s. This site contains the full text of all Victorian Reports since 1905, the most comprehensive collection fully indexed and linked.
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Recently Reported
Tsiragakis v Mallet
Negligence — Duty of care — Psychiatric injury — Attempted suicide by employee — Co-worker Witnessed aftermath of attempted suicide — Employee who had attempted suicide no longer at scene of incident — Whether employee attempting suicide owed duty of care to co-worker to take reasonable care to avoid co-worker sustaining psychiatric injury from witnessing the aftermath of the attempt — County Court Civil Procedure Rules 2018 (Vic), r 47.04(2025) 77 VR 324NEGLIGENCE
Re estate of Moore
Wills and codicils — Rectification — Testator gave oral instructions to solicitor charged with preparing will — Oral instructions reflected testator’s anterior mistake — Whether will carried out intentions of testator — Whether will failed to give effect to testator’s instructions — Whether clerical error — Wills Act 1997 (Vic), s 31(1) Words and phrases — ‘clerical error’(2025) 77 VR 311WILLS AND CODICILS
Footscray Football Club Ltd v Kneale
Torts — Negligence — Duty of care — Scope — Football club — Volunteer — Child spectators regularly attending club — Sexual abuse of child by club volunteer — Whether football club owed duty of care to child spectator broader than occupier’s liability — Whether errors in charge to civil jury — Whether duty of care could extend to a risk of sexual abuse by a person for whose actions the football club was not vicariously liable Damages — Torts — Negligence — Psychiatric injury caused by historical sexual abuse — Jury award — General damages for pain and suffering — Whether award manifestly excessive — Damages for past loss of earnings and loss of earning capacity — Whether award had evidentiary basis — Manner in which damages for loss of earning capacity should be assessed — Indexation of past loss permitted — Discount rate for the calculation of future economic loss — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), r 47.02 — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), s 14(1), 60, 60(2)(a) — Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic), ss 7, 8, 9 — Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic), pt VB, pt VBA, 28C(2)(a), 28LC Evidence — Admission of statement of deceased witness — Danger of unfair prejudice — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), ss 63, 135 Counsel — Comments by counsel during closing address to jury(2024) 77 VR 168TORTS
Cappelleri v Cappelleri
Limitation of actions — Declaratory relief — Declarations sought as to shareholdings in private company more than six years after allegedly false notifications made to Australian Securities and Investments Commission — Whether claims ‘founded on tort’ — Whether facts alleged comprised tort of injurious falsehood or cause of action based on wrongful conduct — Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic), ss 5(1)(a), (2), (8), 21 — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), s 36 — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), r 23.05 Equity — Enforceability of gift — Transfer of shares for no consideration — Whether donor completed all actions required to effect transfer Estoppel — Promissory estoppel — Estoppel by acquiescence or inaction — Transfer of shares — Challenge to validity by non-party to transfer — Whether estopped from challenging validity of transfer Practice and procedure — Appeal — Leave to withdraw concession on appeal — Whether in interests of justice to re-open issue Words and phrases — ‘action’ — ‘cause of action’ — ‘declarations of right’(2024) 77 VR 126LIMITATION OF ACTIONS
Re Ramos
Adminisitration and probate — Revocation of probate — Fraudulent impersonation of executors — Application to revoke grant — Power to revoke a grant obtained by fraud — Adminstration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic), s 67(2025) 77 VR 122ADMINISITRATION AND PROBATE
Lew v Blacher
Local Government — Councillors — Role — Allegation of misconduct by Councillor — Internal arbitration — Finding of misconduct arising from comments made on social media by Councillor using personal account in relation to a matter for decision by Council — Whether conduct occurred ‘in performing the role of a Councillor’ — Local Government Act 2020 (Vic), s 28 — Local Government (Governance and Integrity) Regulations 2020 (Vic), sch 1 cl 1 Words and phrases — ‘decision making’(2024) 77 VR 105LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Coonwarra Pty Ltd v CornoNero Pty Ltd
Equity — Breach of fiduciary duty — Remedies — Equitable compensation — Causation — Procurement of breach — Fiduciary and procurers caused money to be borrowed and disbursed in breach of duty — Measure of loss — Connection between breach and loss — Whether loss would have been incurred had breach not been procured — Liability to compensate — Whether procurers and fiduciary jointly and severally liable to compensate Practice and procedure — Security for costs — Funds paid into court — Discretion as to disposition — Plaintiff provided security for costs of third defendant — Fifth defendant and plaintiff sought release of funds — Fifth defendant successful in defending claims and entitled to costs — No realistic prospect of fifth defendant recovering costs from plaintiff — Relevance of purpose for which funds paid into court and interests of payer and payee — Particular defendant’s interests not an object of the payment into court — Whether funds to be released to plaintiff or to particular defendant(2024) 77 VR 72EQUITY
El-Helou v Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific Pty Ltd
Practice and procedure — Group proceeding — Application for leave to amend group definition — Application to strike out pleadings — Adequacy of group definition — Group member defined as person who acquired motor vehicle containing ‘defeat device’ — Existence of ‘defeat device’ a fact in issue — Definition of ‘defeat device’ technical — Whether definition permitted ascertainment of group members — Whether amendment unfair or unreasonable — Whether adverse to interests of group members — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), s 33H(2025) 77 VR 51PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Secretary v Hage (No 2)
Courts and judges — Parens patriae jurisdiction — Infants and juveniles — Care and protection — Pregnant teenage child — Intellectual disability — Sole parental responsibility of Secretary to the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing — Intersection of statutory powers with parens patriae jurisdiction — Whether parens patriae jurisdiction extends to authorising accommodation in secure welfare service beyond statutory time limit — Statutory power to authorise medical treatment without child’s consent — Whether in best interests of child to be subject to restraint to facilitate child birth and post-delivery insertion of reversible contraception — Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic), ss 8(2), 10, 11, 172, 173, 174, 175, 597 Guardianship — Child — Intellectual disability — Care by Secretary order — Statutory detention authority — Sufficiency — Time limitation — Extension — Best interests of child — Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic), ss 172, 173, 174 Human rights — Freedom of movement — Limitation — Least restrictive means — Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic), ss 7(2), 12(2025) 77 VR 1COURTS AND JUDGES
DPP (Cth) v Falco (a pseudonym)
Criminal law — Interlocutory appeal — Trafficking in persons — Statutory interpretation — Respondent charged with organising or facilitating exit of another person from Australia by deception — Elements of offence — Whether prosecution required to prove accused’s use of deception involved a risk of exploitation of the person deceived — Criminal Code (Cth), div 271, s 271.2(1A)(2024) 76 VR 630CRIMINAL LAW