Police — Motor vehicles — Offence — Failure of driver to give information to police officer acting in the execution of duty — Proper construction of ‘execution of duty’ — Whether power of a police officer to request information restricted to circumstances where officer was investigating possible offences under the Act — Road Safety Act 1986 (Vic), s 60(1)

Banks and banking — Bank and customer — Loan secured by mortgage — Preservation of mortgaged property — Costs and expenses — Bank paid customer’s unpaid owners corporation fees owing on mortgaged property — Bank debited customer’s loan account in those amounts — Customer ceased to make loan repayments — Whether bank required to make demand for payment before debiting account — Whether debit caused customer’s failure to make loan repayments

Unconscionable conduct — Bank and customer — Bank paid unpaid owners corporation fees due on mortgaged property and debited customer without notice to customer — Whether breach of Code of Banking Practice 2013 — Whether bank acted unfairly in proceedings for debt and possession — Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth), s 12CB

Practice and procedure — Leave to appeal — Points in proposed grounds of appeal not raised before trial judge — Where success on proposed grounds would not impugn orders made by trial judge

Practice and procedure — Group proceeding — Settlement — Approval — Appeal by group member against approval of settlement — Separate proceeding brought by special purpose receivers — Settlement of two proceedings — Single sum to be paid in settlement of both proceedings — Whether settlement sum fair and reasonable — Group proceeding funded by litigation funder — Proposed distributions from settlement sum for litigation funder’s commission and legal costs — Overlap between issues raised in two proceedings — Whether judge had adequate regard to contribution of special purpose receivers’ proceeding in approving commission to funder of group proceeding — Whether judge erred in ordering confidentiality over expert costs report, affidavits and legal advices and submissions — Whether judge erred in failing to appoint contradictor — Whether open to Court to approve settlement but not approve proposed distributions for commission and legal costs — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), ss 33V, 33ZC(5), 33ZF

Costs — Costs of appeal — Group proceeding — Appeal by group member — First respondent representative plaintiff in group proceeding — Where appellant achieved substantial success — Whether first respondent was proper party to appeal — Whether appellant’s costs should be paid out of settlement sum — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), s 33ZC

Costs — Self-represented litigant — Barrister representing self — Member of the Victorian Bar — Whether entitled to costs for work as counsel — Whether entitled to reasonable disbursements — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), ss 3(1), 24(1)

Administrative law — Judicial review — Domestic bodies — Registered Housing Association — Decision to give notice to vacate for no reason — Decision to restrict tenant’s contact with landlord’s staff — Whether decisions amenable to judicial review — Application of Datafin principle — Housing Act 1983 (Vic) — Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic)

Building contracts — Major domestic building contract — ‘No fault’ termination by owner — Builder’s entitlement to reasonable value of work performed — Liquidated damages — Owner’s claim for liquidated damages in respect of delay — Application by builder for extension of time in respect of delay — Whether owner could recover liquidated damages for delay where building contract terminated under ‘no fault’ regime — Whether liquidated damages claim defeated by builder’s extension application — Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic), ss 41(5), 41(6)

Legal practitioners — Unsatisfactory professional conduct — Dealings between practitioners — Requirement to take all reasonable care to maintain integrity and reputation of legal profession — Ensuring courteous communications — Avoidance of offensive or provocative language or conduct — Exception for communication made for legitimate pursuit of client interests and on reasonable basis — Whether exception applied — Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic), s 15(2) — Legal Profession Act 2004 (Vic), s 4.4.4(a) — Professional Conduct and Practice Rules 2005 (Vic), r 21

Costs — Liquidation — Liquidators’ application for directions and approval of compromise — Application refused — Appeal dismissed — Whether costs ordered against liquidator personally or from assets of company — Different position regarding costs at first instance and on appeal

Companies — Liquidation — Costs of appeal by liquidators — Liquidators’ right of indemnity against company — Whether costs properly incurred — Risk of exhausting assets of company through appeals — Onus on liquidators to establish costs of appeal honestly and reasonably incurred

Costs — Wasted costs — Application for personal costs orders against plaintiff’s legal advisers and expert accounting witnesses — Plaintiff awarded only nominal damages at trial — Jurisdiction to award personal costs orders — Allegations of serious impropriety — Notice requirement

Practice and procedure — Overarching obligations — Legal professionals — Expert witnesses — Whether plaintiff’s legal advisers and expert accounting witnesses contravened overarching obligations by continuing to act once it became reasonably clear that subject property development would return a substantial loss — Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic), ss 17, 19, 21(b), 22, 23, 24 and 29

Trusts — Discretionary trust — Resolutions recording allocation of income to beneficiary — Accounts of trust — Whether acknowledgement of debt — Whether beneficiary a creditor of the trustee

Practice and procedure — Interest — Interest on sum recovered in proceeding — ‘Debt or sum certain’ — Sum paid into Court by way of compromise — Order recording compromise — Whether sum ‘recovered’ — Whether judgment for the sum required — Good cause why interest should not be allowed — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), s 58(1)

Criminal law — Charge — Sufficiency of particulars — Joint commission — Preparatory offences — Foreign incursion — Offence of engaging in conduct preparatory to entering foreign country with intention of engaging in hostile activity — Whether particulars provided reasonable information as to the nature of the charge — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), s 159(3)(c), sch 1 — Criminal Code (Cth), ss 11.2A, 117.1(1), 119.1(1), 119.4(1)

Administrative law — Procedural fairness — Practical content of fairness — Unrepresented litigant in person — Respondent charged on summons with road traffic offences — Respondent filed written objections to jurisdiction of Magistrates’ Court — Magistrate dismissed jurisdictional objection without hearing oral submissions from respondent — Whether respondent denied procedural fairness — Magistrates’ Court Act 1989, s 1 — Magistrates’ Court Criminal Procedure Rules 2009 (Vic), r 5 — Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic), s 24(1)

Administrative law — Sex offenders registration — Possession of child pornography — Possession by applicant as child continued as adult — Whether registrable offender — Particulars of charge included date of possession as adult — Whether guilty plea an admission to date in particulars — Whether offence durative — Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 (Vic), s 6(3)(a)

Courts — Anonymisation — Applicant sought to have name anonymised in published reasons — Pseudonym used in trial reasons — Legislative policy to restrict disclosure of register — Risk of chilling effect on review of registration — Sex Offenders Registration Act 2004 (Vic), s 63

Legal practitioners — Fees — Costs disclosure — Contract for legal services — Variation of engagement — Counsel retained by solicitor — Client to be responsible for counsel’s fee — Whether oral variation of engangement permitted — Whether costs disclosure made — Legal Profession Uniform Law, cls 174, 175, 178, 180, 184, 185

Carriers and carriage of goods — Aviation — Carriage of passengers — Federal jurisdiction — Personal injury claim under Civil Aviation (Carriers’ Liability) Act 1959 (Cth) — Operation of s 79 of the Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) — Whether pt VBA of the Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic) applied — Whether Commonwealth law ‘otherwise provided’ — Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic), ss 28LB, 28LC, 28LE — Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth), s 79 — Civil Aviation (Carriers' Liability) Act 1959 (Cth), ss 9B, 9E, sch 1A, arts 17(1), 21, 29

Words and phrases — ‘claim’ — ‘claimant’

Equity — Fiduciary duties — Partnership — Duty to avoid conflict of interest — Duty to avoid deriving unauthorised profits — Duty to disclose and offer commercial opportunity to fellow partners — Whether breach of duties — Accessorial liability — Whether knowing inducement or procurement of breach — Whether receipt of property derived from another person’s breach — Application of terms of partnership deed — Partnership Act 1958 (Vic), ss 32, 33(1)

Partnership and partners — Formation — Partnership deed — Person signing partnership deed in capacity of director of corporate partner — Whether director personally bound — Whether director of partner a partner of partnership

Negligence — Duty of care — Statutory duties — Common law duty — Nuisance — Power supply company — Bushfire ignited after tree fell onto power conductor — Alleged statutory duty to maintain supply network to minimise risk to persons and property and to minimise risk of bushfire — Alleged common law duty to operate powerlines safely — Whether duties required clearance of non-hazardous vegetation outside of defined minimum clearance space — Electrical Safety Act 1998 (Vic), ss 84, 85, 86, 89, 98, 151 — Electricity Safety (Electric Line Clearance) Regulations 2015 (Vic) — Code of Practice for Electric Line Clearance, cls 2, 3, 7, 8, 10 — Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic), ss 62, 63, 64 — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), r 23.01

Words and Phrases — ‘Maintain’ — ‘Hazard’

Criminal law — Interlocutory appeal — Evidence — Tendency evidence — Admissibility — Function of certification for interlocutory appeal — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), ss 295 and 296

Administrative law — Judicial review — Domestic body — Professional association created by Royal Charter — Refusal of readmission to membership — Whether decision amenable to judicial review — Whether Datafin principle applicable in Victoria — Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic), ss 62, 63, 64

Associations and clubs — Membership — Professional association of accountants created by Royal Charter — Refusal of readmission application — Whether decision amenable to judicial review

Workers compensation — Serious injury application — Economic loss — ‘Pecuniary loss damages’ — Whether worker suffered a permanent loss of earning capacity of 40% or more — Relevance and admissibility of medical panel reasons — Accident Compensation Act 1985 (Vic), ss 135AB(37), 135AB(38)(e)

Evidence — Admissibility — Reasons of medical panel – Members of medical panel not compellable as witnesses — Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic), s 272 — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), ss 55, 79

Arbitration — Jurisdiction — Competence — Review of arbitrator’s ruling on jurisdiction — Whether rehearing de novo or judicial review of arbitrator’s ruling — Commercial Arbitration Act 2011 (Vic), ss 16(9), 16(11)

Building contracts — Contract for plastering work — Dispute resolution — Whether arbitration prohibited — Whether domestic building work — Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic), ss 3, 5, 6(2), 14, 54(1)(b) — Domestic Building Contracts Regulations 2017 (Vic), regs 7(e), (g)

Tort — Conversion — Bailment — Unauthorised pledge of chattels by bailee — Chattels returned by pledgee to bailee — Whether pledgee liable in conversion — Elements of cause of action — Whether dealing with or exercise of acts of ownership over chattels required — Whether unauthorised possession sufficient — Whether conversion a strict or absolute liability tort — Possible need for law reform

Summary offences — Loitering without reasonable excuse — Elements of offence — Whether ‘loitering’ required proof of lack of purpose or unlawful purpose — Crimes Act 1958 (Vic), s 60B(2) — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), s 272(1)

Human rights — Right to freedom of movement — Limitations — Loitering without reasonable excuse — Whether constructional choice as to meaning — Whether limitation reasonable and demonstrably justifiable — Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic), ss 7, 12, 25(1), 32(1)

Criminal Law — Bail — Exceptional circumstances — Applicant subject to adjourned undertaking to be of good behavior — Whether undertaking to be of good behavior constituted ‘otherwise serving a sentence’ — Bail Act 1977 (Vic)s 4AA(2)(c)(v) — Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic) s 75

Companies — Winding up — Liquidators — Control of liquidators — Court’s statutory jurisdiction to inquire into conduct of liquidators — Application by creditor for inquiry into conduct of liquidators — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s 541(1)(b)

Companies — External administration — Liquidators — Liquidator’s remuneration — Where liquidator’s remuneration was approved by creditors — Whether court should undertake a review — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s 504(1)