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Litigation & Dispute resolution
Stay Refused: Court of Appeal Reinforces High Threshold
The Victorian Court of Appeal delivered a landmark judgment in HM (a pseudonym) v Sister Mary Monaghan (HM),[1] on 21 May 2026. The court affirmed the Court’s earlier refusal of a stay application. A stay
Snapshot: Victoria Expands Vicarious Liability for Child Abuse Claims
Tuesday 17 February 2026 marked another landmark decision for child-abuse survivors with the Victorian Parliament passing the Justice Legislation Amendment (Vicarious Liability for Child Abuse) Act 2025 (Vic) (Act). The Act expands the doctrine of
High Court majority extends non-delegable duty of care to intentional criminal conduct of delegates
The High Court of Australia has delivered a landmark ruling in AA v The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle (AA),[1] concerning allegations of sexual abuse committed by a Catholic
Gene Hackman’s decision to leave his children out of his Will
Gene Hackman, the legendary Hollywood actor, was known for his remarkable film career with an impressive array of roles in films like The French Connection, Unforgiven, and The Royal Tenenbaums. Hackman amassed not only fame
Case update: Steen v Trustees of the Diocese of Tasmania [2023] TASSC 3
The recent decision in Steen v Trustees of the Diocese of Tasmania [2023] TASSC 3 demonstrates the continuing trend of courts to award survivors of historical sexual abuse significant damages. In the 1980s Steen,
The dichotomy of vicariously acting for God in cases of intentional wrongs
The Victorian Supreme Court of Appeal on 3 April 2023 ruled that a Diocese was liable for the criminal acts of an assistant priest as an ‘apparatus of God’ – leaving little scope to separate
Lismore Trust v GLJ: Permanent Stay Granted Where Perpetrator is Dead
Photo by Nico Smit on Unsplash The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore v GLJ [2022] NSWCA 78 (‘Lismore Trust v GLJ’) On 1 June 2022 the New South Wales
Expert Witness 101
INTRODUCTION The decision of DP (a pseudonym) v Bird [2021] VSC 850 offers valuable guidance for the selection and briefing of expert witnesses, as well as how the Court expects expert witnesses to conduct themselves
Mediation – What You Need To Know
Mediation is one of a number of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) processes which aim to encourage parties to resolve legal disputes before proceeding to trial. Though generally a voluntary procedure, the importance of attempting to