Procedure — Civil proceedings — Compromise — Summary enforcement of terms of compromise — When summary enforcement appropriate — Whether application should be made in compromised proceeding or a separate proceeding — Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic), s 45 — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), r 47

Procedure — Civil proceedings — Class actions or group proceedings — Compromise of group proceeding — Effect of compromise on claims or defences of group members not raised in compromised group proceeding

Stamp duty — Transfer of dutiable property — Transfer of land to trustee for transferor — No change of beneficial ownership — Property held for beneficiary — Trustee’s power to subdivide and sell — Whether dutiable — Duties Act 2000 (Vic), s 35(1)(a)

Wills and Estates — Administration — Specific gift of shares in company — Company declared dividend after death of deceased — Whether specific legatee entitled to dividend — Whether dividend part of residuary estate — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), r 54.02

Companies — Shares — Company constitution — Ownership of shares of deceased member — Effect of registration of transfer of shares — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), ss 104, 1070A, 1070E

Companies — Dividends — Apportionment — Whether dividends declared in respect of profit of prior financial year or of year in which declaration made — Whether dividend subject to apportionment — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), ss 53, 54, 55, 56

Practice and procedure — Discovery — Preliminary discovery — Whether reasonable grounds to believe that applicants may have right to obtain relief against respondent — Whether sufficient information to enable applicants to decide whether to commence proceeding — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), r 32.05

Practice and procedure — Parliamentary privilege — Statements made to Parliamentary committees — Reports of Parliamentary Committee — Whether statements and reports may be tendered in evidence — Whether statements can be used to prove the truth of the facts contained in the statements

Courts and judges — Jurisdiction — Domestic building disputes — Exclusive jurisdiction of Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal in respect of domestic building disputes — Initial relationship of builder and proprietor under domestic building contract — Works performed — Amount owing in respect of past work — Proprietor entered written agreement with builder regarding debt due — Proceeding to enforce debt — Whether Court obliged to stay proceedings as ‘arising wholly or predominantly from a domestic building dispute’ — Whether agreement ‘in relation to’ carrying out of domestic building work — Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic), ss 53, 54, 57

Real property — Registered instrument — Mortgage — Electronic instrument — Rectification — Error in description of mortgagee — Unilateral mistake — Whether rectification possible — Indefeasibility — In personam claim — Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic), s 74(5), s 103 — Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Victoria)

Criminal law — Summary hearings — Evidence of incriminating conduct — Whether Jury Directions Act 2015 (Vic) applied to summary hearings — Whether prosecution required to give notice of intention to rely on evidence of incriminating conduct on summary hearing — Jury Directions Act 2015 (Vic), ss 1, 5, 4A,19, 20, 21 — Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic), ss 25(2)(a), 32

Statutory interpretation — Statutory moratorium prohibiting onshore petroleum activities — Impact on existing authorities — Provision that moratorium did not affect existing ‘requirements or obligations imposed’ under existing authorities — Meaning of ‘requirement’ and ‘obligation’ — Whether statutory moratorium should be read down — Whether plaintiffs permitted under authorities to conduct any onshore petroleum activities during the moratorium — Resources Legislation Amendment (Fracking Ban) Act 2017 (Vic) — Petroleum Act 1998 (Vic), s 17A(1), (2)

Administrative Law — Implementation of executive policy — Non-statutory moratorium prohibiting onshore petroleum activities — Plaintiffs held existing authorities for activities prohibited by non-statutory moratorium — Whether Minister’s implementation of non-statutory moratorium unlawful — Whether utility in granting relief

Administrative Law — Unreasonableness — Whether purported ministerial variations to authorities invalid — Discretionary variation power of Minister — Variations required holders of authorities to carry out work at future, unspecified time by which time authorities would have expired — Petroleum Act 1998 (Vic), s 102

Trusts and trustees — Superannuation — Self-managed superannuation fund — Death benefit — Dependant — Trustees resolved to pay death benefit to self — Whether trustees exercised discretion upon real and genuine consideration — Bad faith — Evidence from which trustee’s decision-making process to be deduced

Appeal — Practice and procedure — Application for leave to appeal — Determination not embodied in order — Order and reasons to be read together — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), s 17(2)

Real property — Indefeasibility of title — Unregistered restrictive covenant granted by previous proprietor — Covenant disclosed to purchasers of burdened land — Purchasers not contractually bound to covenant — Whether purchasers’ knowledge of covenant sufficient to bind them — In personam claim — Fraud — Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic), ss 42, 43 — Property Law Act 1958 (Vic), s 79

Practice and procedure — Civil proceedings — Ouster of jurisdiction — Expert determination — Whether expert determination mechanism impermissibly ousts jurisdiction of court — Appointment of expert — Renunciation of appointment function by designated appointment authority

Practice and procedure — Stay of proceedings — Inherent jurisdiction — Whether jurisdiction to stay proceedings pending expert determination — Whether inherent jurisdiction enlivened — Mixture of expert, legal and factual questions — Whether stay should be granted

Contracts — Construction and interpretation — Implied terms — Whether appropriate to determine terms prior to joinder of issue

Criminal law — Alternative verdicts — Offences of engaging in and attempting to engage in terrorist act under Criminal Code (Cth) — Whether arson and attempted arson under Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) should have been left to jury as alternatives — Whether uncharged State offence can be alternative to charged Commonwealth offence — Whether arson an alternative to engaging in terrorist act — Whether trial judge should have stayed proceeding until prosecution filed fresh or amended indictment — Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth), s 79(1) — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), s 239(1)

Practice and procedure — Discovery — Preliminary discovery — Whether preliminary discovery available in aid of application for declaration — Nature of belief necessary for preliminary discovery — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), r 32.05

Contract — Breach — Damages — Domestic building contract — Failure to complete building works within reasonable time — No intention to reside at or rent property in interim — Loss of use and enjoyment of land — Whether compensable — Measure of damages — Whether measured as commercial rental value of property — Whether measured as wasted expenditure on property during period of delay

Practice and procedure — Appeals — Appeal from Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal — Whether remittal required for resolution of issues — Uncontested facts — Considerations of convenience — Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 (Vic), s 148

Administrative Law — Judicial review — Jurisdictional error — Failure to afford procedural fairness — Multiple decisions conceded to be affected by jurisdictional error — ‘Direction’ notice given by official under statute — Notice having effect of a court order — Whether erroneous direction notice could be reconsidered, corrected or revoked by decision-maker — Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic), ss 8, 9, 10, 11, 280, 281, 289A, 300, 301, 304, 305, 309, 331, 332, 333

Guardianship — Mandatory considerations – Care by Secretary order — Family preservation order — Direction notice — Power of Secretary to revoke direction notice under s 289A — Children, Youth and Families Act 2005 (Vic), ss 8, 9, 10, 11, 280, 281, 289A, 300, 301, 304, 305, 309, 331, 332, 333

Courts and judges — Judgments and orders — Suppression orders — Supreme Court — Jurisdiction — Orders made by County Court and Magistrates’ Court — Application to Supreme Court to vary orders of lower courts — Orders made prior to commencement of Open Courts Act 2013 (Vic) — Whether Supreme Court has power to vary suppression orders made by inferior courts — Whether appropriate to vary suppression orders in the circumstances — Open Courts Act 2013, ss 1, 3, 15, 17, 18 — Magistrates' Court Act 1989, s 126(2) — County Court Act 1958, s 80(1) — Constitution Act 1975 (Vic), s 85

Practice and procedure — Security for costs — Application against natural person plaintiff supported by a litigation funder — Failure to state residential address — Whether threshold requirements met — Significance of litigation funder — Inherent jurisdiction — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), r 62.02(1)(d), (2)

Contract — Damages — Person entitled to claim — Domestic building contract — Statutory warranties — Defective works — Breach — Claim by subsequent purchasers of property — Measure of damages — Whether subsequent purchaser can claim cost of rectification — Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic), ss 8, 9

Real property — Restrictive covenant — Single dwelling covenant — Not to erect any dwelling than as specified without consent in writing of the transferor — Transferor now deceased — Construction of covenant — Whether restrictions became absolute or spent on death of the transferor — Purpose of covenant — Admissibility of evidence of the existence and content of other covenants imposed by the transferor in relation to the purpose of the restrictions — Property Law Act 1958 (Vic), s 84(2)

Tort — Economic torts — Conspiracy to injure by unlawful means — Intention to cause harm — Pleading — Whether sufficient to assert intention — Whether intention to be inferred from conduct — Whether statement of claim alleged requisite intention

Practice and procedure — Class actions or group proceedings — Requirements for group proceeding — Acts unlawful under laws of different States — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), s 33C(1)(b)

Practice and procedure — Civil proceedings — Service — Service of originating process outside Australia — Whether r 7.02 made within power — Whether r 7.02 a rule for or with respect to a matter dealt with under former Rules of Court — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), s 25(1)(a) — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), r 7.02

Constitutional law — Victoria — Legislative power of State Parliament — Whether Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic) s 25(1)(a) within legislative competence of Victorian Parliament — Whether sufficient connection with Victoria — Constitution Act 1975 (Vic), s 16

Evidence — Admissibility — Hearsay — Electronic communications — Facebook posts — Evidence relating to dates and times of certain Facebook posts — Whether posts and evidence of date and time posts were made were ‘documents’, ‘information’ and records of ‘electronic communications’ — Where no expert evidence called regarding Facebook posts — Where applicant did not recall the post — Where certain Facebook posts were inflammatory — Whether probative value of Facebook posts outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice to the applicant — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), ss 71, 137, 146, 161 — Electronic Transactions (Victoria) Act 2000 (Vic)

Words and Phrases — ‘documents’ — ‘information’ — ‘records of electronic communications’

Administrative law — Discretionary power — Assistance for victims of crime — Applicant was victim of act of violence — Power to refuse or reduce award — Tribunal refused award — Whether tribunal required to consider eligibility before considering whether to refuse award — Whether refusal unreasonable — Distinction between jurisdiction and power — Victims of Crime Assistance Act 1996 (Vic), ss 1(2), 7, 8, 8A, 32(1), 50(1), 52, 54, 59 — Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 (Vic), ss 42, 51, 148