Chaina v Presbyterian Church (NSW) Property Trust (No. 18) [2013] NSWSC 1600

Chaina v Presbyterian Church (NSW) Property Trust (No. 18) [2013] NSWSC 1600

Although much of the report appeared to be based on material not otherwise proved and some assumptions had not yet been established, the Court considered it fairer to admit the whole report at this stage, subject to removal of a sentence previously ruled inadmissible, because the factual issues and the weight to be given to the report could be addressed after final submissions.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
04 November 2013
Procedural Posture
Interlocutory Application / Ruling on Admissibility of Expert Report
Outcome
The report of Professor Graham Dowling of 4 August 2006 is allowed into evidence.
Legal Topics
['expert Evidence' 'admissibility' 'expert Report Relying on Material Not in Evidence' 'unproved Assumptions' 'weight of Expert Evidence']
['evidence'] ['expert Evidence' 'admissibility' 'expert Report Relying on Material Not in Evidence' 'unproved Assumptions' 'weight of Expert Evidence']

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Procedural Posture

Interlocutory Application / Ruling on Admissibility of Expert Report

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether Professor Graham Dowling's report of 4 August 2006 should be rejected because it relied on documents not in evidence or documents expressly rejected from evidence." 'Whether assumptions made in the expert report, other than the superiority assumption already considered in Chaina v Presbyterian Church (NSW) Property Trust (No. 16) [2013] NSWSC 1494, were not made out and therefore required the opinions to be excluded.' 'Whether the report was so infected by unproved factual material that the opinion reached by Professor Dowling could not be allowed to stand before completion of the trial.']

Ratio Decidendi

Although much of the report appeared to be based on material not otherwise proved and some assumptions had not yet been established, the Court considered it fairer to admit the whole report at this stage, subject to removal of a sentence previously ruled inadmissible, because the factual issues and the weight to be given to the report could be addressed after final submissions.

Court Disposition

The report of Professor Graham Dowling of 4 August 2006 is allowed into evidence.

Orders

  • ['The report of Professor Graham Dowling of 4 August 2006 is allowed into evidence.' 'The report is admitted subject to the removal of the sentence commencing on line 4 in paragraph 18 that had already been ruled inadmissible for form reasons.']