Criminal law — Appeal — Conviction — Sexual offences — Retrial — Whether failure to extend time from commencement of trial within statutory time limit — Whether trial a nullity — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) s 212

Appeal — Criminal law — Appeal from Magistrates’ Court to County Court — Jurisdiction and powers of County Court — Alternative charges — Plaintiff convicted and sentenced by Magistrates’ Court on one charge — Alternative charge dismissed — Appeal against conviction and sentence — Nature of criminal appeal to County Court — Whether County Court on appeal has jurisdiction to convict on charge ‘dismissed’ in Magistrates’ Court — Whether County Court has power to correct an unintended error by Magistrate — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) ss 3, 254, 256(2)(b), 256(2)(c) and 412 — Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (Vic) s 51(1)

Orders — Interlocutory order — Final order — Whether a charge dismissed other than on the merits is interlocutory or final

Administrative law — Admissibility of transcript of Magistrates’ Court proceeding to determine whether there was an error on the face of the record — Administrative Law Act 1978 (Vic) s 10 — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic) s 178(6)

Contract — Illegality — Rectification — Performance of contract illegal — Whether rectification available to cure statutory illegality — Estate Agents Act 1980 (Vic) ss 49A, 50

Equity — Rectification — Agency agreement — Estate agent — Written sales authority — Sales authority did not comply with Estate Agents Act 1980 (Vic) — Developers alleged agents not entitled to commission — Agents sought rectification of sales authority to accord with common intention of the parties to comply with Act — Whether rectification available — Estate Agents Act 1980 (Vic) ss 49A, 50

Conflict of laws — Foreign judgment — Recognition — Common law — In personam civil judgment — Chinese District Court — International jurisdiction — Defendants nationals of country of foreign court — Whether nationality of defendant sufficient connection to found recognition of judgment

Negligence — Injuries — Undetected pregnancy — Statutory scheme for compensation — Claim for loss and damage including costs of raising child and impact on career progression — Whether claim statute-barred as action or other proceeding for damages ‘in respect of’ a ‘service injury’ — Whether normal pregnancy and childbirth an ‘injury’ — Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (Cth) s 388(1)(a)

Defence forces — Compensation — ‘Service injury’ — Whether normal pregnancy and childbirth an ‘injury’ within the meaning of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (Cth) s 388(1)(a) — Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004 (Cth) s 388(1)(a)

Trusts and trustees — Trust — Breach of trust — Fraudulent breach — Knowing assistance — Corporate trustee committed fraudulent breach of trust — Accessorial liability of company secretary as third party — Whether third party assisted trustee with knowledge of trustee’s dishonest and fraudulent design

Stamp duty — Assessment — Purchase of interest in land-owning partnership — Whether transfer of dutiable property — Meaning of ‘interest in an estate in fee simple’ — Duties Act 2000 (Vic) ss 7, 10

Partnership and partners — Nature of partner’s interest in partnership assets

Practice and procedure — Warrants of execution — More than six years elapsed since judgment entered — Adequacy of reasons for delay — Where change, by assignment, in identity of person entitled to execution — Whether legal assignment required or equitable assignment sufficient — Discretion to grant or refuse leave — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic) rr 68.02, 68.04 — Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic) ss 5(4), 5(7)

Contract — Dispute settlement clause — Expert determination — Implied duty of impartiality — Asset sale agreement — Value of livestock — Vendor alleged expert failed to carry out valuation in accordance with agreement — Whether expert valuation can be set aside for apprehended partiality

Criminal law — Appeal — Conviction — Armed robbery, attempted armed robbery and reckless conduct endangering life — Identity of offender in issue — Where witness gave evidence of location of mobile telephone allegedly used by appellant during offending — Where evidence given by reference to statistical probability of phone being in particular location at particular time — Whether trial judge erred in admitting evidence — Whether substantial miscarriage of justice

Evidence — Admissibility — Opinion evidence — Technical specialist giving evidence of probability of mobile telephone being in particular geographic area at particular time — Where probability expressed as percentage — Probability derived from computer program and other data not in evidence — Whether witness had ‘specialised knowledge’ to give evidence expressed as percentage — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic) ss 76(1), 79(1)

Companies — Directors’ duties — Breach — Apportionment of liability — Whether Part IVAA of the Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic) applicable in exercise of federal jurisdiction under Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) — Whether state provisions ‘picked up’ by s 79 Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ss 180, 181, 182, 1317H, 1317S, 1318 — Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) s 79 — Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic) s 24AL

Criminal law — Sentencing — Negligently causing serious injury by driving — Driver intoxicated — Victim passenger in vehicle — Whether victim’s knowledge of driver’s intoxication reduced driver’s culpability — Whether victim’s failure to wear seatbelt contributed to injury

Workers compensation — Action for damages — Asbestos-related condition — Leave to proceed — Claimant died before taking additional steps to apply for order for leave to proceed — Whether worker had a valid cause of action at the time of death — Accident Compensation Act 1985 (Vic) ss 135A, 135BB

Workers compensation — Whether filing of generally indorsed writ constituted application under s 135BB(3) of Accident Compensation Act 1985 (Vic)

Administration and Probate — Worker’s common law claim in respect of employment injury — Statutory requirement for leave to proceed — Claimant died after filing writ and before leave applied for — Whether cause of action survived for the benefit of the estate — Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic) s 29

Town and country planning — Planning scheme — Height limit — Whether Design and Development Overlay imposed a mandatory height limit — Whether planning control ‘specifies otherwise’ — ‘Should’ — Whether imposition of condition directed to building height by Tribunal was unreasonable — Alpine Resorts Planning Scheme cl 43.02, sch 1

Bankruptcy and insolvency — Companies — Joint and several administrators — Remuneration — Priorities — Whether proceeds of sale of company assets arranged by shareholders subject to statutory lien — Whether proceeds subject to equitable lien — Whether sufficient connection between former administrators’ work and recovery, care, or preservation of company assets — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ss 443D, 443E(1), 443F, 556

Equity — Equitable lien — Controller of insolvent company — Lien claimed for fees, costs and expenses — Whether sufficient connection between controller’s work and recovery, care, or preservation of company assets

Trusts — Constructive trust — Company in liquidation — Sale by company’s shareholders of shares in related entity prior to liquidation — Whether share sale proceeds held on constructive trust for company — Whether proceeds intended to be paid to company for benefit of company’s creditors — Whether inequitable for vendor of shares to retain proceeds

Evidence — Admissibility — Improperly or illegally obtained material — Seizure and search of mobile telephone without warrant — Seizure not incidental to arrest of applicant — Whether evidence improperly or illegally obtained — Whether desirability of admitting evidence outweighed undesirability of admitting evidence so obtained — Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 459A — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic) s 138

Criminal law — False accounting — Elements of offence — Dishonesty — Whether prosecution required to prove dishonesty with respect to view of accused to gain — Meaning of ‘dishonestly’ with respect to element of falsification of accounting records or documents — Claim of legal right of accused — Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) s 83(1)

Environmental law — Clean up notice — Polluted groundwater — Plaintiff did not cause pollution — Whether plaintiff an ‘occupier’ — Whether occupier must have caused the pollution — Whether ‘premises’ included subsurface land — Whether groundwater part of the ‘premises’ — Whether subterranean pollution ‘upon’ the premises — Environment Protection Act 1970 (Vic) s 62A(1)(a)

Judicial review — Statutory authority — Statutory power — Exercise of discretion — Whether decision to issue clean up notice reasonable

Companies — Winding up — Failure to comply with statutory demand — Inadvertent failure to serve application to set aside demand in time — Presumption of insolvency enlivened — Injunction to restrain creditor making any application for winding up — Whether plaintiffs ‘unquestionably solvent’ — Whether threatened winding up application would plainly fail

Equity — Injunction — Interlocutory injunction — Allegation of abuse of process — Application to restrain application for winding-up where inadvertent failure to serve application to set aside statutory demand in time

Criminal law — Appeal — Interlocutory appeal — Offences — Elements — ‘Course of conduct’ charges — Indictment specified period of offending — Complainant gave evidence of offending outside the specified period — Application to amend indictment — Whether ‘specified period’ was an element or particular of offence — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) ss 165, 259(2), 259(3)(c), sch 1 cl 4A(8) — Crimes Act 1958 s 45(1)

Criminal law — Criminal procedure — ‘Prasad direction’ — Reference on point of law by Director of Public Prosecutions — Whether direction informing jury of right to acquit at close of prosecution case contrary to law — Whether practice of giving such direction should cease — Circumstances in which trial judge may inform jury of right to acquit — Functions of judge and jury in criminal trial — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) s 308

Real property — Interest in land — Nominee purchaser — Whether equitable interest — Another undisclosed purchaser — Equitable interest of undisclosed purchaser — Priorities — Whether better equity

Sale of land — Multiple purchasers — Undisclosed purchaser — Nomination of new purchaser by disclosed purchaser — Undisclosed purchaser not consenting to nomination — Agency — Whether ostensible authority — Whether nomination valid — Whether co-purchasers in partnership — Whether partnership extinguished by nomination — Availability of specific performance

Estoppel — Issue estoppel — Privity of interest — Bare trust — Discretionary trust — Whether privity of interest between trustee and discretionary object

Practice and procedure — Abuse of process — Inconsistent premises of submissions on privity of interest and on the substantive issue — Re-litigation of issue decided in earlier proceeding

Conflict of laws — Jurisdiction — Civil claim — Discretion to not exercise jurisdiction — Contract made in jurisdiction — Defendant not resident in Australia — Defendant without assets in Australia — Defendant not consenting to jurisdiction — Victorian judgment unenforceable in defendant’s place of residence and situs of assets — Application that Court decline to exercise jurisdiction — Whether unenforceability of judgment in jurisdiction where assets situated a basis to decline exercise of jurisdiction — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic) r 7.04(1), (2) — Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic) — Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933 (UK)

Criminal procedure — Police — Common law powers — ‘Safety and evidence’ search of person — Reasonable suspicion — Police required arrested person to remove clothes — Illegal drugs discovered — Admissibility of evidence obtained — Whether power to conduct common law ‘safety and evidence’ search displaced by statute — Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) ss 464, 464R, 464S, 464T