Administrative law — Judicial review — State of emergency — Public health — Directions by authorised officer — Stay at Home Directions — Challenge by affected resident and business owner — Standing — Whether power to impose curfew — Whether authorised officer acted at the direction or behest of the Premier — Whether curfew decision unreasonable, irrational or illogical — Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (Vic), ss 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 111, 197, 198, 199, 200

Administrative law — Judicial review — State of emergency — Directions by authorised officer — Stay at Home Directions — Basis of decision — Protection of public health — Whether public health direction unreasonable, illogical and irrational — Whether erroneous finding of jurisdictional fact — Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (Vic)

Evidence — Admissibility — Opinion rule — Exception — Specialised knowledge — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), s 79

Human rights — Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities — Freedom of movement — Right to liberty — Duty to give proper consideration to human rights — Substantive and procedural limbs — Restrictions on movement in response to threat to public health — Curfew in relation to large population groups — Power to order curfew — Whether measures proportionate — Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (Vic) , s 200 — Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006, ss 7(2), 12, 21, 38, 39

Real property — Caveats — Compensation — Caveat lodged without reasonable cause — Solicitor signing and lodging caveat on behalf of claimant client — Whether solicitor ‘any person’ lodging caveat — Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic), ss 89(1), 115, 118

Companies — Irregularity — Relief — Procedural or substantive irregularity — Resolutions at special general meeting of owners corporation — Resolution by ballot — Votes by lot owners ineligible to vote — Owners Corporation Act 2006 (Vic), ss 3, 94(1) — Subdivision Act 1988 (Vic), s 3 — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), ss 1322(2), (4), (6)

Companies — Corporation — Body corporate — Body corporate formed under Owners Corporations Act 2006 (Vic) — Application of Corporations Act to owners corporation — Owners Corporation Act 2006 (Vic), ss 3, 94(1) — Subdivision Act 1988 (Vic), s 3 — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), ss 9, 57A, 1322

Words and phrases — ‘body corporate’ — ‘constitution’ — ‘interested person’ — ‘proceedings under this Act’ — ‘just and equitable’ — ‘substantial injustice’

Real property — Transfer of land — Previous declaration by Court as to title to property — Person entitled to land declining to participate in transfer of property — Application for supplementary order directing Registrar of Titles to cancel and reissue title — Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic), ss 58(1), 103

Judgments, orders and declarations — Enforcement of declaration — Person declared to be entitled to property taking no steps to transfer property to self — Application for direction to transfer property — Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic), ss 58(1), 103

Practice and procedure — Overarching duties — Duty to cooperate in conduct of civil proceedings — Breach of duty — Costs — Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic), ss 8, 20

Practice and procedure — Group proceedings — Settlement — Scheme for distribution of settlement proceeds — Insured members of group — Priority as between group members and insurers — Objection by insurers of group members to proposed scheme — Where settlement by insurer or insured for amount less than full value of claim — Whether plaintiff insured gave bona fide consideration to interest of insurer — Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth), ss 67(1), (3) and (9)

Practice and procedure — Group proceedings — Settlement — Scheme for distribution of settlement proceeds — Manner of distribution — Whether pro rata distribution appropriate — Insured members of group — Whether exception or supplement to statutory priority rules as basis for distribution — Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth), ss 67(1), (3) and (9) — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), s 33V

Insurance — Subrogation — Recovery of money in respect of insured losses — Settlement of group proceedings — Insurers’ role in group proceedings — Opt-out of group proceedings not crystallised — Whether right of subrogation exercised — Whether insurer recovered amounts in respect of insured losses — Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth), s 67(2)

Practice and procedure — Group proceeding — Recovery sought on behalf of persons for personal injury, loss or damage to property, or pure economic loss — Settlement of proceedings — Role of representative plaintiffs — Whether settlement constituted recovery by representative plaintiffs on behalf of group members of amounts in respect of group member losses

Criminal Law — Appeal — Costs — Application for costs arising from a claim of public interest immunity — Whether award of costs to party to an appeal under pt 6.3 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) prohibited by s 409 of that Act — Whether claim for public interest immunity ‘incidental’ to appeal under pt 6.3

Practice and procedure — Amicus curiae — Costs — Power to award costs of amicus curiae — Whether case justifies order of costs

Landlord and Tenant — Retail leases — Whether Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic) continues to apply to lease if the premises cease to be retail premises during the term of the lease — Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic), ss 1, 4(1), 4(2), 4(3), 7, 11, 35(3), 46, 50, 94

Valuation and compensation — Land reserved for public purpose under a planning scheme — Compensation — Loss on sale — Registered proprietor of land at time of reservation died without selling land — Land sold by beneficiaries of former registered proprietor — Application by beneficiaries of deceased proprietor for compensation for loss on sale — Whether applicants were, or were required to be, ‘owners’ of the land at the time of the reservation — Whether applicant beneficiaries ‘acquired’ land subsequent to reservation — Whether claim for compensation precluded — When right to claim compensation arose — Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Vic), ss 98, 99, 108

Words and phrases — ‘Owner’ — ‘Acquired’

Practice and procedure — Costs — Departure from usual rule — Proceeding to modify restrictive covenant in respect of land — Defendants objected to proposed modification — Plaintiff’s proceeding successful — Plaintiff’s Calderbank offer rejected — Principles for award of costs in covenant modification cases — Property Law Act 1958 (Vic), s 84(1)(c) — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), s 24

Practice and procedure — Costs — Counsel’s fees — Certification — Court’s powers regarding certification of Counsel’s fees — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), rr 63.07(c), 63.34(3) — Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic), s 65C

Companies — Liquidation — Voidable transaction — Whether payment to creditor made by related company of debtor an unfair preference — Whether debtor company party to transaction between related company and debtor company’s creditor — Whether payment to creditor by related company a payment ‘from’ the debtor company — Whether defence of good faith — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), ss 588FA, 588FE, 588FG

Wills and estates — Intestacy — Siblings — Deceased survived by full and half siblings — Entitlement to distribution from estate — Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic), s 70ZI — Administration and Probate and Other Acts Amendment (Succession and Related Matters) Act 2017 (Vic), ss 9, 11

Words and phrases — ‘sibling’

Planning and environment — Environment protection — Clean up notice — Planning and building controls — Whether clean up notice works required a planning permit — Whether works were ‘specified in the notice’ — Environment Protection Act 1970 (Vic), ss 1A, 1B, 1D, 1K, 4, 53V, 53X and 62A — Environment Protection (General Amendment) Act 1989 (Vic), ss 4(c) and 59 — Wyndham Planning Scheme cls 33.02–4 and 33.03–4

Practice and procedure — Court-appointed contradictor — Scope of contradictor’s role — Nature and functions of a court-appointed contradictor — Roles of contradictor, intervener and amicus curiae compared

Practice and procedure — Group proceeding — Settlement — Application by litigation funder for approval of funder’s commission and reimbursement of legal costs from settlement sum — Allegations of disentitling conduct made against litigation funder and non-party lawyers who formerly acted for plaintiff — Application by non-party lawyers to redefine the issues on the application — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), ss 33V, 33ZF

Contract — Damages — Breach of contract for the sale of land — Whether rule in Bain v Fothergill applicable — Whether damages to be measured at time of breach or at a later time

Criminal Law — Criminal Procedure — Magistrates’ Court — Jurisdiction to hear and determine summary criminal charge for an indictable offence — Attempting to obtain financial advantage by deception — Attempted financial advantage exceeded jurisdictional limit — Whether Magistrates’ Court had jurisdiction to deal summarily with the attempt charge — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), ss 28 and 29 and sch 2, items 4.10 and 4.28

Criminal Law — Appeal — Conviction — Sexual offending — Substantial miscarriage of justice — Prosecutor’s intemperate and pejorative criticisms of conduct of defence case — Prosecutor’s obligation of fairness — Whether criticism of defence counsel implicitly endorsed by judge

Criminal Law — Appeal — Conviction — Sexual offending against children — Delay in complaint — Directions as to psychological strategies and coping mechanisms of abuse victims — Whether expert evidence required for direction — Whether direction authorised by Jury Directions Act 2015 (Vic), ss 52(4), 53

Criminal law — Appeal — Interlocutory decision — Sexual offences — Video Audio Recording of Evidence (VARE) — Child complainants interviewed in presence of intermediaries — Use of sensory aids during interviews — Where judge declined to order cross-examination of intermediaries present at interview — Foreshadowed application to exclude VAREs — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), ss 295(3)(b), 296(1), div 7 of pt 8.2

Agency and agents — Real estate agent — Reimbursement of outgoings — Statutory requirements — Whether agent entitled to seek reimbursement for total amount of outgoings where claim included amounts for which agent not entitled to be reimbursed at common law — Requirement for agent to inform client that outgoings subject to negotiation — Whether satisfied — Estate Agents Act 1980 (Vic), ss 4, 48B(1), 49A(1)(b), 49A(1)(c)(ii)

Agency and agents — Real estate agent — Commission — Requirement for agent to inform client that commission subject to negotiation — Whether satisfied — Provision of information about commission prior to engagement of agent — Provision of indicative calculation of commission — Whether commission must be calculated by reference to a reserve price — Estate Agents Act 1980 (Vic), ss 49A(1)(b), 49A(1)(c)(ii)

Trust and Trustees — Trust deeds — Company purportedly appointed by trust deeds — Deeds executed by natural persons purportedly as officers of trustee company — Trustee company not registered at time of execution of deeds — Whether trusts fail due to non-existence of trustee company at appointment — Whether natural persons who signed as company officers were appointed trustees in absence of existence of company — Whether property vested as trust property in natural persons as trustees — Whether corporate trustee intended to become trustee of trusts on registration — Property Law Act 1958 (Vic), s 53(1)(b) — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), r 54.02

Trusts — Trust property — No declaration of trust for real property registered in name of natural persons treated as trust property — No declarations of trust for real properties registered in name of trustee company — Whether real properties beneficially owned by discretionary family trusts — Property Law Act 1958 (Vic), s 53(1)(b)

Trusts — Power of amendment — Deed amended after trusts vested and prior to being wound up — Trust deeds amended by revoking all clauses and adding replacement clauses from the deed of amendment — Whether continuity of the trust property, beneficiaries and constitution of trust — Whether substratum of trusts destroyed

Administrative law — Judicial review — Natural justice — Bias — Tribunals — Specialist tribunal — Sessional member of Building Appeals Board retained as expert witness in case before that Board — Resignation before hearing — Doctrine of necessity — Whether reasonable apprehension of bias — Whether evidence of expert witness to be excluded

Building — Building Appeals Board — Pecuniary interest provisions — Whether conflict between Board membership and activities as building practitioner — Building Act 1993 (Vic), sch 3, cl 6

Criminal law — Appeal — Interlocutory decision — Evidence — Admissibility — Hearsay — Remote hearsay — Foreign police provided copies of material extracted from internet pages — Whether documents containing representations extracted from foreign computer servers admissible where provenance not established by admissible evidence — Whether s 48 Evidence Act 2008 (Vic) rendered evidence admissible — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), ss 48, 59, 69 — Foreign Evidence Act 1994 (Cth), ss 21, 22, 25

Land Tax — Exemption — Charitable use — Land leased by university to non-charitable lessee — Where lessee used the land to provide student accommodation pursuant to an agreement with university — Whether use exclusively for charitable purposes — Land Tax Act 2005 (Vic), s 74(1)(a)

Wills and Estates — Construction — Equalisation clause — Valuation — Method and timing of valuation of properties — Properties specifically devised to beneficiaries with equalisation clauses — One property subject to unrealised capital gain — Equalisation clause required determination and deduction of embedded capital gains tax liability — Whether CGT to be calculated on estate income or deceased’s income at time of death — Second property valued by executor at time of death of deceased — Whether date for valuation should have been date of equalisation payment or date of distribution — Wills Act 1997 (Vic), s 49

Criminal law — Charge — Validity — Particulars required for valid charge — Whether common law requirements abrogated by statute — Whether omission of time of day of alleged offence resulted in invalidity — Whether minor errors in particularisation of location of alleged offence resulted in invalidity — Scope of power to amend charge — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), ss 6, 7, 8, 9, sch 1 — Road Safety Road Rules 2017 (Vic), r 20(2)

Criminal law — Charge — Validity — Motor vehicle offences — Breath test — Refusing test — Road Safety Act 1986 (Vic), ss 49(1)(e), 55(1) and 55(2A) — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), ss 6, 8, 9, sch 1

Courts and judges — Form of charges — Extrinsic information — Own motion investigation — Magistrate searching Court records and comparing form of charge sheets — Not inviting comment of parties — Whether error