Equity — Unconscionable conduct — Remedies — Mortgage — Guarantee — Loan — Right of guarantor to set transactions aside — Restitutio in integrum — Orders necessary to achieve practical justice — Whether guarantor required to repay principal and interest — Whether debt should be secured

Legal practitioners — Costs — Costs disclosure — Costs agreement void — Fair and reasonable costs — Basis for assessment in default — Hourly rates — Whether scale rates applicable — ‘Fixed costs legislative provisions’ — Family Law Rules 2004 (Cth), sch 3 — Legal Profession Uniform Law (Victoria), ss 6, 172(3), 174(1)(b), 174(6), 178

Practice and procedure — Confiscation orders — Unexplained wealth — Restraining order made ex parte — Power to revisit ex parte restraining order — Whether inherent or implied power of court to set aside ex parte order — Whether power removed by statute — Content of statutory obligation to provide notice of ex parte restraining order — Confiscation Act 1997 (Vic), ss 40F, 40H, 40I, 40J, 40S, 40W, 40X, 40ZA

Constitutional law (Cth) — Chapter III — Judicial power — Institutional integrity and impartiality of State courts — Confiscation orders — Unexplained wealth — Restraining order made ex parte — Whether statute invalid by not guaranteeing notice and right to rehearing of ex parte restraining order — Confiscation Act 1997 (Vic), ss 40F, 40H, 40I, 40J, 40S, 40W, 40X, 40ZA

Landlord and tenant — Lease — Tenant’s request to sublet part of leased premises — Landlord’s consent withheld — Whether consent unreasonably withheld — Whether landlord entitled to withhold consent on basis of prejudice to landlord’s commercial proprietary interests

Criminal law — Appeal — Conviction — Obtaining financial advantage by deception — Applicant obtained registration from Victorian Institute of Teaching by falsely declaring no prior convictions — False declaration enabled applicant’s employment as teacher — Whether disclosure of prior convictions unfairly prejudicial — Whether obtaining registration as teacher obtaining a ‘financial advantage’ — Whether obtaining employment a ‘financial advantage’ — Crimes Act 1958 (Vic), s 82

Evidence — Privilege — Self-incrimination — Waiver — Where witness claiming privilege pleaded guilty to perjury in other proceedings — Whether traversal of plea founds objection to giving evidence on ground of self-incrimination — Whether statute abrogates common law — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), s 128

Tort — Assault and battery — Police — Unlawful arrest — Whether force necessary and reasonable — Excessive force — Damages — Crimes Act 1914 (Cth), s 3(G)(b), s 3WA, s 459 — Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth), s 100.1, s 101.6

Civil procedure — Expert witness — Obligations of expert witnesses — Independence — Non-disclosure by expert of certain matters — Communications between expert and lawyers and potential witnesses — Impact on overarching obligations — Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic), s 29

Evidence — Expert evidence — Admissibility — Objection to expert report and joint expert report on grounds of lack of independence, misleading conduct and failure to disclose basis for expert’s opinion — Whether inadmissible — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), ss 79, 135

Companies — Winding up application — Statutory demand — Whether statutory demand validly served — Presumption of receipt of prepaid post — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s 109X(1)(a) — Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth), s 29(1) — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), s 160

Companies — Winding up application — Originating process — Requirement to attach statutory demand to application — Requirement that supporting affidavit accompany application — Whether defects or irregularities — Whether Court had power to amend, provide dispensation, or make remedial orders — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), ss 459Q, 467(1), 467A — Supreme Court (Corporations) Rules 2013 (Vic), r 5.4

Banks and Banking — Cheques — Mandate — Forged cheques — Bookkeeper engaged by plaintiff misappropriated funds of plaintiff — Defendant bank admitted debiting accounts with no mandate — Pleading — Whether open to bank to plead that plaintiff represented that first defendant was agent and officer of the plaintiff

Negligence — Damages — Breach of duty of care — Assessment of damages — Proportionate liability — Transfer of land without knowledge or consent of all owners — Licensed conveyancer negligent but not fraudulent — Wrongs Act 1958 (Vic), ss 24AF, 24AH, 24AI, 23AM

Consumer law — False or misleading representations regarding transfer of land — Whether necessary for a person to be misled or deceived — Whether representations made in connection with the supply of goods or services — Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), sch 2, ss 18, 29

Highways, streets and roads — Carriageway easement — Public highway — Whether private carriageway easement a public highway at common law — Narrow track through easement already a public highway — Whether inference that land owner intended entire easement to be a public highway — Dedication and acceptance — Legal principles — Onus of proof — Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic), s 42

Local Government — Roads — Declaration by Council of carriageway easement as a ‘public highway’ — Whether private carriageway easement a ‘road’ for the purposes of s 204 of Local Government Act — Whether easement a ‘right of way’ within the statutory definition of ‘road’ — Whether ‘right of way’ limited to public right of way — Whether decision affected by jurisdictional error — Local Government Act 1989 (Vic) ss 3, 204(1)

Local Government — Whether power to declare road under Local Government Act limited by the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act 1996 (Vic) — Local Government Act 1989 (Vic), ss 3, 187, 204, 206, 207B, sch 5

Police — Search warrants — Warrant under Crimes Act 1958 — Syringes seized by police from licensed racehorse trainer — Information derived from things seized disclosed by police to Racing Victoria — Whether police owed duty of confidentiality regarding things seized — Whether limitation on use by police of information derived from seized things — Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) — Crimes Act 1958 (Vic), s 465

Police — Common law powers and duties — Confidential information obtained in criminal investigations

Human Rights — Privacy — Search warrant — Whether disclosure of information derived from seized thing lawful — Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic), Information Privacy Principle 2.1(e) — Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities (Vic), ss 13(a), 32

Words and Phrases — ‘Unlawful activity’, ‘dealt with according to law’

Administrative law — Judicial review — Decisions of municipal council – Nature of council’s decisions — Whether decisions made in exercise of statutory power — Whether council acting as a tribunal when decisions made — Meaning of tribunal — Administrative Law Act 1978 (Vic), ss 2, 8(1)

Town and country planning — Planning scheme — Agreement between responsible authority and land owner — Application to amend agreement — Refusal of application — Refusal to furnish reasons — Whether requirement to furnish reasons — Whether rules of natural justice apply — Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic), ss 173, 178, 178A

Criminal law — Sentencing — Standard sentence scheme — Obligation to have regard to ‘standard sentence’ for offence — ‘Standard sentence’ as sentence for offence in the middle of the range of seriousness, taking into account only objective factors — Assessment of objective seriousness of offending — Whether sentencing judge required to classify subject offence on scale of seriousness referable to hypothesised mid-range offence — Whether conventional mode of sentencing altered — Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic), ss 5(2)(ab), 5(2)(c), 5A, 5B

Practice and procedure — Jurisdiction — Contract — Foreign State — Act of state — Whether doctrine of act of state applicable — Forum non conveniens — Whether Victoria clearly inappropriate forum for determination of claim — Foreign States Immunities Act 1985 (Cth), ss 9, 11

Criminal law — Appeal — Appellant convicted of murder — Petition of mercy — Referral to the Court of Appeal — Subversion of the right to a fair trial — Substantial miscarriage of justice — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), ss 276(1)(c), 277(1), 327(2)

Legal Practitioners — Duty to Court — Ex parte application — Unopposed application — Duty of disclosure — Full and frank disclosure — Disclosure of all relevant matters — Application for modification of restrictive covenant — Previous refusal of application over same land not disclosed — Jurisdiction to inquire into whether legal practitioners fulfilled obligation of disclosure — Whether jurisdiction enlivened — Nature and extent — Whether duty breached — Property Law Act 1958 (Vic), ss 84(1), 84(3) — Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules 2015, r 19 — Legal Profession Uniform Conduct (Barristers) Rules 2015, rr 24, 25, 27

Legal practitioners — Overarching duty — Breach — Obligation not to engage in misleading or deceptive conduct or conduct likely to mislead or deceive — Application for modification of restrictive covenant — Previous refusal of application over same land not disclosed — Whether breach of duty — Final orders authenticated — Whether jurisdiction under Civil Procedure Act after final orders made — Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic), ss 21, 29, 30

Courts and Judges — Jurisdiction — Entry and authentication of orders — Whether jurisdiction to reopen proceedings after entry of judgment in absence of fraud

Courts and Judges — Duty to court — Counsel and solicitor — Ex parte application — Overarching duty — Duty of good faith — Duty of disclosure — Jurisdiction to inquire into whether legal practitioners fulfilled obligation of disclosure on ex parte application and at unopposed hearing — Whether jurisdiction under Civil Procedure Act after final orders made — Jurisdiction under Common Law and Conduct Rules — Nature and extent of jurisdiction — Whether jurisdiction enlivened — Property Law Act 1958 (Vic), ss 84(1), 84(3) — Legal Profession Uniform Law Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules 2015, rr 19.1, 19.2, 19.4 — Legal Profession Uniform Conduct (Barristers) Rules 2015, rr 24, 25, 27 — Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic), ss 29, 30

Property law — Restrictive covenant over land — Application for modification — Identification of persons having benefit of covenant — Material matters — Previous application regarding same land refused — Failure to disclose prior application and disposition to Court — Court notified of previous unsuccessful application by third parties after making final orders — Whether breach of legal practitioners’ duty to Court — Property Law Act 1958 (Vic), ss 84(1), 84(3) — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), r 52.09

Statutory interpretation — Time — Statutory time limits — Ministerial notice to be given ‘no later than 7 days before hearing’ — Where time limit expired on a Sunday — Where notice given on following Monday — Whether general rule applied to extend time from ‘public holiday’ to following non-’public holiday’ — Whether ‘contrary intention’ disclosed in the statute to exclude general rule — Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 (Vic), sch 1 cl 58 — Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (Vic), ss 4(1), 44(3)

Occupational Health and Safety — Duty of employer — Independent contractors — Whether duty of employer to ensure safety of ‘persons other than employees of the employer’ applied to employees of independent contractors of the employer — Overlap of offences — Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic), s 21, s 23(1)

Appeal — Magistrates’ Court — Charge dismissed — Whether dismissal of charge a ‘final order’ — Whether appropriateness of charge a ground for dismissal — Whether respondent deprived of a defence by prosecution choice of charge — Whether abuse of process — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), s 272

Administration and probate — Informal will — Deceased made both formal will and informal document purporting to express different testamentary intentions — Requirements for entering informal will into probate — Whether informal document intended by deceased to be her will — Whether common law requirements of testamentary capacity and knowledge and approval met — Wills Act 1997 (Vic), ss 9(1),12–15

Guarantee and surety — Bank guarantee — Engineering contract — Design, construct and install contract — Unconditional guarantee to secure contractor’s obligations — Call on guarantee for damages due to defective work — Whether money due and payable under the contract — Whether contract precluded recourse to guarantee