Administration and probate — Forfeiture rule — Beneficiary guilty of defensive homicide of testator — Scope of application of forfeiture rule to manslaughter and analogous homicides — Public policy — Whether rule equitable in nature — Whether rule applied to prevent beneficiary taking benefit of will

Criminal law — Trial — Evidence — Child witness — Cross-examination — Rule in Browne v Dunn — Counsel’s obligations of fairness — Need for age-appropriate questions — Duty of trial judge — Evaluating apparent inconsistencies — Whether challenge to truthfulness sufficiently communicated — Advantages of intermediaries

Criminal law — Evidence — DNA Evidence — Admissibility — Judicial discretion to admit or exclude evidence — Whether evidence relevant — Whether probative value of evidence outweighed by danger of unfair prejudice — ‘CSI effect’ — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic) ss 55(1), 137

Criminal law — Evidence — Interlocutory appeal — DNA evidence held to be irrelevant by trial judge — Whether prosecution case would be substantially weakened if evidence held inadmissible — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) ss 295(3)(a), 297(1)

Criminal law — Appeal — Appeal against conviction — Appeal against sentence — Sexual offences against child victim — New evidence — Evidence available at time of trial but not adduced — Distinction between new and fresh evidence — Principles relevant to determination of conviction appeal where new evidence relied upon — Whether new evidence cogent and credible — Whether substantial miscarriage of justice as a result of new evidence not having been adduced at trial — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) ss 276(1), 278

Trusts and trustees — Judicial advice — Proceedings alleging breaches by trustee — Beneficiaries’ dispute — Whether trustee justified in defending proceedings — Costs of application for judicial advice — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic) r 54.02

Contract — Construction — Joint and several obligation of debtors — Compromise or settlement agreement with one co-obligor — Effect of settlement on obligations of other obligors — Whether terms released joint or joint and several debtors — Common law rule as to release of joint or joint and several debtors - Whether common law abrogated by statute — Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic) s 24AA — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic) rr 9.03, 9.04, 9.05, 9.06, 21.05

Practice and procedure — Appeal — Point of law raised for first time on appeal

Valuation and compensation — Reservation affecting land — Public acquisition overlay — Sale of property by affected owner — Whether costs of sale, taxation advice and value of lost opportunity recoverable — ‘financial loss suffered as a natural, direct and reasonable cost of the reservations’ — Whether ‘value of land’ meant ‘value to the owner’ — Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic) ss 98, 99(b), 101, 104, 106 — Land Acquisition and Compensation Act 1986 (Vic)ss 35, 37

Companies — Corporate trustee — Application of statutory priority regime to distribution of a receivership surplus arising from realisation of trust assets — Whether proceeds of trustee’s right of exoneration and indemnity ‘property of the company’ — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ss 433, 556, 560, 561

Companies — External administration — Receivers and managers — Corporate trustee — Right of exoneration and indemnity — Whether necessary that corporate trustee’s right of indemnity ‘subject to circulating security interest’ — Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) s 340

Trusts and trustees — Indemnity — Exoneration — Nature of trustee’s right of indemnity in respect of trust assets — Whether ‘property of the company’ where corporate trustee

Companies — Mortgages and charges — Security interest — Relevant date for ascertaining whether property ‘subject to circulating security interest’ — ‘circulating asset’ — Relationship between Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (Cth) s 340(1)(a) and (b)

Words and phrases — ‘property of the company’, ‘circulating security interest’, ‘circulating asset’

Companies — Insolvent trading — Voidable transaction — Application for recovery — Application filed within time — Delay in service — Extension of time for service — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) s 588FF — Supreme Court (Corporations) Rules 2013 (Vic) rr 1.10, 2.7 — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic) rr 3.02, 5.12

Practice and procedure — Originating process — Corporations matter — Extension of time for service — Whether Court has power under Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 to extend time for service provided for in Supreme Court (Corporations) Rules 2013

Practice and procedure — Discretion to extend time for service — Whether judge erred in exercise of discretion

Criminal law — Statutory interpretation — Evidence of illegal acts — Controlled operations — Authorisation of otherwise unlawful conduct to obtain evidence of criminal offences — Purchase of illegal drugs — Requirement to specify nature of authorised conduct of participating police — Requirement to specify particular authorised conduct of participating civilians — ‘Authorised conduct’ described as ‘discussions, communications and arrangements regarding purchase of illegal drugs’ and ‘exchange of money relating to such purchases and possession and facilitation of exchange of such money’ — Whether descriptions of conduct adequate — ‘Specify’ — ‘Nature’ — ‘Particular’ — ‘Arrangement’ — Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) ss 15GI, 15GK(1)(f)

Probate — Application for revocation of grant of probate — Standing to seek revocation — Earlier wills — Applicants would not benefit from probated will or any preceding wills — Applicants would benefit upon intestacy — Whether applicant for revocation required to show prima facie case to establish standing — Sufficiency of interest

Criminal law — Appeal — Interlocutory appeal — Evidence — Admissibility — Exclusion — Mobile telephones carried by passenger — Whether passenger’s carriage of personal effects in or out of Australia constituted ‘import’ or ‘export’ — Whether goods ‘subject to the control of the Customs’ — Copying of content of telephones — Breach of Customs Act and internal instructions — Whether evidence should be excluded — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic) s 138 — Customs Act 1901 (Cth) ss 30, 68, 71, 71AAAB, 186, 186A

Criminal law — Case stated — Question of law reserved — Meaning of ‘import’ — Whether narrower than ‘importation’ — Consistency of use of parts of speech — Whether ‘import’ includes collection and delivery — Whether Court of Appeal should advise on jury directions — Customs Act 1901 (Cth) s 233BABAD

Practice and procedure — Approval of compromise of a person under disability — Redaction of parts of the approval order — Confidentiality of materials used in support of the application for approval of compromise — Continuation of pseudonym order — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic) rr 15.08, 28.05(2)

Practice and procedure — Open justice — Presumption in favour of inspection of all documents on a court file — Confidentiality of some documents kept on court file — Public interest — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic) r 28.05(2) — Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities 2006 (Vic) ss 15(2), 24 — Open Courts Act 2013 (Vic) ss 4, 18, 28, 30

Contract — Employer and employee — Restraint of trade — Repudiation of contract by employer — Acceptance of repudiation — Reliance upon restraint of trade clause — Whether restraint of trade was able to be relied upon where breach — Whether restraint of trade clause binding where termination resulting from employer’s breach

Contract — Employer and employee — Termination — Breach — Repudiation — Acceptance of repudiatory conduct — Whether particular conduct constituted breach

Defamation — Pleadings — Publication — Internet search engine — Primary publication — Secondary publication — Participation in a business — Joint tortfeasors — Conducing publication

Practice and procedure — Summary judgment application — Whether cause of action pleaded had any real prospect of success — Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic) s 63 — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic) r 23.01

Evidence — DNA evidence — Admissibility — Reliability — Criminal proceeding — Judicial discretion to admit or exclude evidence — Prejudicial evidence — Whether admission of DNA evidence would give rise to unfair prejudice to the accused — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic) s 137

Equity — Fiduciary obligations — Commercial relationship governed by contract — Factors relevant to existence of fiduciary relationship — Whether fiduciary relationship existed

Contract — Construction and interpretation — Agreement governing construction and operation of adventure golf course between manager and developer — Where separate management agreement between landowner and manager — Where agreement duration depended upon occupation of site ‘in accordance with’ management agreement — Whether agreement duration extended to renewal or ‘holding over’ of management agreement

Appeals — Issue not raised at trial — Where conduct at trial reveals departure from pleaded claim — Issue as to construction and interpretation of contract — Whether applicant permitted to raise issue on application for leave to appeal

Administrative law — Appeal — Questions of law — Decision of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal — Whether rights conferred upon holder of a ‘take and use’ licence under the Water Act 1989 limited by the Planning and Environment Act 1987 or by planning scheme — Water Act 1989 (Vic) ss 8(4), 8(6), 51, 55, 67, 69 — Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic) s 6(2)(b)

Town and country planning — Planning permit granted for a ‘utility installation’ to holder of a ‘take and use’ licence under the Water Act 1989 — Whether rights conferred upon holder of a ‘take and use’ licence under the Water Act limited by the Planning and Environment Act 1987 or by planning scheme — Water Act 1989 (Vic) ss 8(4)(a), 8(6), 51, 55,67(1)(b), 69 — Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic) s 6(2)(b)

Companies — Winding up application — Statutory demand — Where non-compliance with statutory demand occurred after filing of winding up application — Whether presumption of insolvency applied — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) s 459C(2)

Companies — Winding up application — Statutory demand — Requirement to set out particulars of failure to comply with statutory demand — Where non-compliance had not yet occurred at time particulars set out — Whether defect or irregularity — Whether application and supporting materials could be amended to comply with requirements — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ss 459Q, 467, 467A — Supreme Court (Corporations) Rules 2013 (Vic) r 5.4

Building contracts — Security of payments — Adjudication determination — Whether determination made out of time is void — Whether time limits are jurisdictional — Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic)ss 14(4), 22, 23, 48

Building contracts — Security of payments — Whether payment claim invalid — Payment claim included work performed prior to previous reference dates for which a payment claim had not been served — Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic) s 9

Building contracts — Security of payments — Developer — Separate sales company — Whether special purpose vehicle ‘in the business of building residences’ — Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic) s 7(2)(b)