Contract - Construction - Principles - Restraint of trade - Breach - Test - Sale of business - Non-competition covenant - Whether impermissibly establishing, assisting, advising, influencing, interested or engaged in, or employed in competing business - Lease of premises - Loan - Parental assistance - No financial interest or control - Accumulation of conduct - Involvement too remote - No breach of restraint clause - "Being interested in".

Accident compensation - Workers compensation - Compensable injury - Worker - Contract of service - Contractors as deemed workers - Serious injury application - Dismissal - Appeal - Whether appellant regularly carried on trade or business in his name or under firm or business name - Whether work incidental to appellant's trade or business - Accident Compensation Act 1985 (No 10191) ss 5 8(1) 134AB(16) - County Court Act 1958 (No 6230) s 74(3).

Criminal law - Sexual offences - Wilfully committing indecent act with child under 16 - Verdicts - Whether inconsistent - Acquittal on one count - Conviction on another count - Whether verdicts unsafe and unsatisfactory or unreasonable or not supported by the evidence - Sentence - Conduct of accused incorrectly classified by judge as predatory - Accused resentenced.

Administrative law - Freedom of information - Exempt documents - Secrecy provision in another statute - Scope of exemption - Whether other statute must prohibit disclosure by person in possession of document - Freedom of Information Act 1982 (No 9859) s 38 - Corrections Act 1986 (No 117) ss 17 30(1)(f) 30(2) - Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 (No 53) s 148

Criminal law - Sentence - Guilty plea - Manslaughter - Criminal negligence - Wide variation of circumstances and culpability in manslaughter - Culpability generally less in cases of manslaughter by negligence - Sentence manifestly excessive.

Criminal law - Procedure - Fair trial - Presentment - Particulars - Specification of counts - Elements of offence - Conspiracy - Conspiracy to steal - Two counts - Separate conspiracies to steal tree ferns and timber from landowners - Same three named landowners - Whether prosecution had sought convictions on substantially different conspiracies - Prosecution not required to prove that agreement to steal from all three landowners - Provision of names of landowners merely the provision of particulars.

Criminal law - Sentence - Sexual offences - Offences against children - Representative counts - Whether representative count an aggravating feature for purposes of sentencing - Meaning of aggravating feature - Desirability of sentencing judge avoiding colloquial usage.

Contempt of court - Interference with administration of justice - Actual or threatened - Risk that witness would refuse to give evidence - Magistrates' Court - Committal proceeding - Commonwealth terrorism-related offences - Suppression order - Prohibition on naming or identifying witness - Order referring to witness by single letter of alphabet - Witness named - Whether order disobeyed - Order not bad on its face - Sufficient for any person having notice of order - Newspapers published in other States - Publishers aware of order - Magistrates' Court Act 1989 (No 51) s 126.

Statutes - Interpretation - Extra-territoriality - Court exercising federal jurisdiction - Whether Judiciary Act extended court's territorial operation - Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (No 10096) s 48(b) - Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth) s 79.

Contract - Illegality - Public policy - Improper exaction of excessive legal costs - Bank loan - Guarantee - Enforcement - Legal costs - Guarantor indemnifying bank for its enforcement costs - Bank's agreement with its solicitors - Solicitors giving bank annual volume rebate - Bank not giving guarantor proportionate credit for rebate - Discretion to allow full recovery of costs excluding proportion of rebate.

Costs - Agreement - Indemnity for costs of loan enforcement - Order for party and party costs - Enforcement of agreement without taxation of costs subject to order.

Criminal law - Procedure - Trial - Fair trial - Jury - Directions - Common law obligations - Appropriate summary of defence case - Exculpatory evidence not included in charge - Provision of written materials not satisfactory substitute for oral directions - Sexual offences - Rape - Defence of consent - Directions as to reasonableness or otherwise of accused's belief - Inadequate charge - Conviction quashed - Crimes Act 1958 (No 6231) ss 37(1)(c) 568.

Criminal law - Offences against the person - Causing serious injury intentionally - Victim stabbed twice - Verdict not bad for latent duplicity and/or uncertainty - Single or composite activity test - Two stabbings part of single transaction - Cross-examination of accused - Jury directions - Whether productive of uncertainty - Sentence - Nine years' imprisonment with non-parole period of six years not manifestly excessive.

Criminal law - Sexual offences - Evidence - Admissibility - Recent complaint - Police summoned to domestic altercation - Female heard to cry out for help - Female observed to be in distressed state - Police asking female whether she had been sexually assaulted - Affirmative response - Jury entitled to regard response as spontaneous - Sentence - Director's appeal - Sentence not manifestly inadequate.

Criminal law - Procedure - Jury - Majority verdict - Judge should give perseverance direction before instructing jury as to majority verdict - Judge should seek submissions of counsel before instructing jury that majority verdict will be taken - No miscarriage of discretion.

Contract - Enforceability - Oral agreement - Subsequent alleged written agreement - Inconsistency - Identification of terms - Meaning of terms - Parties to oral agreement different from parties to alleged written agreement - Whether alleged written agreement binding - Whether reliance on oral agreement excluded - Fair Trading Act 1999 (No 16) s 9.

Evidence - Parol evidence rule - Applicability - Modern formulation - Scope - Meaning of contractual terms distinguished from identification of terms.

Contempt of court - Undertaking to court - Non-compliance - Solicitor - Contingent undertakings - Costs - Order in favour of successful plaintiffs - Stay - Lifting of stay - Plaintiffs' former solicitor undertaking to repay trial costs if defendant's appeal successful - Costs paid to solicitor - Amounts disbursed for counsel's and solicitor's fees - Contingency occurring - Undertakings not honoured - Recipient of undertaking obtaining consent orders for repayment - Orders enlarging and quantifying subject matter of undertakings - Substituted contingency - Changed circumstances - Effect - Original undertakings ceasing to be operative - Solicitor convicted of contempt - Conviction set aside - Practice affecting enforcement of solicitors' undertakings - Supervisory jurisdiction of court in respect of solicitors - County Court Act 1958 (No 6230) ss 53 54 - County Court Rules of Procedure in Civil Proceedings 1999 rr 59.03(4) 66.05 66.10 75.

Energy regulation - Natural gas - Regulatory scheme - Essential Services Commission - National competition policy - Hilmer Report (1993) - Abolition of state-owned vertically-integrated monopoly - Separation of stages - Production - Transmission - Distribution - Retailing - Pipeline system - Access - Third party entitlement - Licensing of persons operating distribution pipelines - Licensed distributor appointing company to operate entire distribution network - Whether licensing scheme limited to pipeline owners and operators contracting with retailers - Functional or factual approach - Regulatory scheme aimed at parties with operational control of delivery system - "Operator" - "Provide services ... by means of a distribution pipeline" - "Service provider" - Gas Pipelines Access Law s 2 - National Third Party Access Code for Natural Gas Pipelines - Gas Pipelines Access (South Australia) Act 1997 (SA) Schs 1 2 - Gas Pipelines Access (Victoria) Act 1998 (No 31) - Gas Industry Act 2001 (No 31) s 22(1).

Statutory interpretation - Purposive approach - Context - Extrinsic material - National legislative implementation of competition policy reform in natural gas industry.

Criminal law - Procedure - Sexual offences - Indecent act with child - Single charge referring to three physical acts - Duplicity - Exceptions to rule - Question of fact and degree - Single transaction analysis - Fairness - Magistrates' Court prosecution - Magistrate not requiring prosecutor to elect among physical acts - Not a challenge to exercise of discretion - Rule against duplicity strictly applicable in Magistrates' Court - Crimes Act 1958 (No 6231) Sixth Schedule, r 3(2)

Criminal law - Sentence - Natural justice - Ex parte communications with court - Prosecutor's email messages to County Court judge's associate - Associate's email responses - Obligation of disclosure to other party - No reasonable apprehension of bias - Procedural unfairness - Denial of opportunity to address unanticipated findings - Misleading conduct attributed to accused - Effect on question of remorse - Appeal dismissed.

Human rights - Fair trial - Open justice - Out of court communications to and from judge's associate.

Negligence - Medical negligence - Oral maxillofacial surgeon - Treatment plan - Orthognathic surgery for correction of Class II malocclusion in 49 year old female smoker - Recommendation reasonable - Surgical risks - Duty to warn - Outside chance of permanent pain - Risk materialising - Duty to avoid misleading patient as to scope of risk - Patient's appreciation of risk - Significance of natural aversion to pain - Warning required - Causation - Whether patient would have undergone surgery if warned of risk - Damages - Award for general damages not manifestly excessive - Allowance for possible improvement in patient's condition.

Criminal law - Sentence - Director's appeal - Sexual offences against children - Utmost gravity - Maintaining a sexual relationship with child under 16 - Producing child pornography - Total effective sentence of five years and eight months with a non-parole period of three years manifestly inadequate - Applicable sentencing range - Current sentencing practices - Whether consistent with statutory maximum - Discretion to impose sentence higher than current practice - Offender resentenced to a total of eight years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of five years and six months - Sentencing Act 1991 (No 49) s 5(2)(a) 5(2)(b)

Criminal law - Sentence - Director's appeal - Young offender - General deterrence - Dangerous driving causing death and serious injury - Guidelines - Degree of moral culpability - Inexperienced probationary driver - Poor visibility - Wet road - Overtaking at high speed - Head-on collision - Total effective sentence of 15 months - Intensive corrections order - Sentence manifestly inadequate - Offender resentenced to two years and seven months' detention to be served in a Youth Justice Centre.

Costs - Indemnity costs - Entitlement - Parties' conduct prior to suit - Obligation to attempt compromise - Employer and employee - Trade secrets - Confidential information - Absence of restraint of trade clause - Former employer making unsupportable claims against former employee - Employer declining to identify alleged confidential information before suing former employee - Distinction between employer's trade secrets and employee's general know-how and experience - Failed action by former employer - Abuse of process.

Contract - Construction - Terms - Incompleteness - Uncertainty - Modern approach - Reasonable person's understanding of language - Heads of agreement - Grant of lease - Option to renew.

Contract - Terms - Implied term - Obligation to take reasonable steps to obtain statutory authorisation.

Contract - Validity - Enforceability - Agreement for lease of reserved Crown land - Requirement of ministerial authorisation - Installation of diagnostic equipment at public hospital - Authorisation not sought or obtained.

Real property - Crown land - Land temporarily reserved - Prohibition on unauthorised leases - Whether authorisation capable of being given after agreement for lease entered into - "Purported" - Crown Land (Reserves) Act 1978 (No 9212) ss 8 17D.

Criminal law - Sentence - Director's appeal - Sexual offences against children - Utmost gravity - Penetration of child under 10 - Indecent act with child under 10 - Total effective sentence of two years and six months with a non-parole period of 15 months manifestly inadequate - Plea of guilty - Representative counts - Mitigation - Deterrence - Current sentencing practices - Whether consistent with statutory maximum - Discretion to impose sentence higher than current practice - Offender resentenced to a total of six years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of four years - Sentencing Act 1991 (No 49) s 5(2)(a) 5(2)(b)

Criminal law - Sexual offences against children - Indecent act with a child - Maintaining a sexual relationship with a child under 16 - Convictions arising out of single act in presence of multiple complainants - Count not bad for duplicity - Offender not subject to multiple punishment for single act - Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (No 10096) s 51

Criminal law - Sentence - Multiple sexual offences against children - Guilty plea - Absence of remorse - Sentence not manifestly excessive.

Criminal law - Reckless conduct endangering life - Intentionally causing serious injury - Elements of offences - Mens rea - Conduct of accused - Voluntary and conscious act - General and specific intent - Presumption of innocence - Onus of proof - Crimes Act 1958 (No 6231) ss 16 22.

Evidence - Admissibility - Expert - Neuropsychologist.

Legal practitioners - Solicitor - Retainer - Terms - Scope - Ascertainment - Implied terms - Distinction between legal and commercial advice - Client proposing to lend money to land developer - Retainer to advise on loan security - Implied term to exercise reasonable care and skill - Whether solicitor required to advise client about commercial viability of transaction.

Negligence - Duty of care - Standard of care - Breach - Economic loss - Causation - Solicitor - Retainer - Concurrent tortious duty - Advising client about investment proposal - Contributory negligence - Negligent misrepresentation by developer and directors.

Damages - Apportionment - Proportionate liability - Wrongs Act 1958 (No 6420) Pt IVAA ss 24AE 24AF(1)(a) 24AH(1) 24AI(1)(a)

Trade practices - Misleading or deceptive conduct - Negligent misrepresentation by developer and its directors - Fair Trading Act 1999 (No 16) s 9(1).

Contract - Construction - Commercial necessity - Robust interpretation called for - Shareholders' joint venture agreement - Two equal shareholders - Retail business - Close day-to-day fiduciary relationship - Pre-emptive rights to obtain share transfer - Whether rights enlivened - Specified events - Offer notices - Validity - Offeror's disclosure obligations - Appointment of voluntary administrators to one shareholder - Whether "change in ultimate control" of that shareholder - Reasonable time for exercise of pre-emptive rights - Consent to share transfer - Whether unreasonably withheld.

Criminal law - Trafficking and possession of a drug of dependence - Possession of firearms - Handling stolen goods - Test for control analogous for both drug and firearms offences - Latent duplicity - Rule in Dyer's case - Record of interview - No unfairness in asking name and address of suspect before giving caution - Inconsistent verdicts - Sentence - "Possession" - "Occupy" - "Control" - Crimes Act 1958 (No 6231) ss 88 456AA - Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (No 9719) s 5 - Firearms Act 1996 (No 66) ss 3 145

Criminal law - Sentence - Importing prohibited imports into Australia - Aiding and abetting the importation of prohibited imports into Australia - Largest known importation of heroin into Victoria - Pleas of guilty by four offenders - Head sentences of between 22 and 24 years' imprisonment and non-parole periods of between 15 and 16 years - Burden of proof of mitigating facts - Unsubstantiated assertion of coercion - No sentence manifestly excessive - Parity principle infringed - Three offenders resentenced.