Moggridge v The Benevolent Society [2016] NSWSC 850

Moggridge v The Benevolent Society [2016] NSWSC 850

Because the defendant's own records recorded the plaintiff's short-term memory problems and some matters concerning the plaintiff's care and the circumstances of the fall were peculiarly or appropriately within the defendant's knowledge, special reasons and necessity were established for interrogatories directed to facts in issue. Interrogatories seeking facts already known to the plaintiff, identification of witnesses, conclusions, written briefings, or hypothetical engineering-type matters were not allowed.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
03 June 2016
Procedural Posture
Personal Injury Claim for Damages Arising Out of Bodily Injury / Application for the Issue of Interrogatories
Outcome
Application for service of interrogatories allowed in part.
Legal Topics
['interrogatories' 'special Reasons' 'necessity' 'short Term Memory Loss' 'civil Procedure']
['practice and Procedure' 'personal Injury'] ['interrogatories' 'special Reasons' 'necessity' 'short Term Memory Loss' 'civil Procedure']

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 1 Authorities cited 2 Party arguments 2 Amounts and remedies 1
Sign in to unlock

Procedural Posture

Personal Injury Claim for Damages Arising Out of Bodily Injury / Application for the Issue of Interrogatories

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the Court should allow service of interrogatories in a personal injury proceeding.' 'Whether special reasons existed to justify interrogatories under rule 22.1 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW).' 'Whether the proposed interrogatories were necessary and directed to facts in issue rather than discovery of evidence, identification of witnesses, conclusions, or hypothetical matters.']

Ratio Decidendi

Because the defendant's own records recorded the plaintiff's short-term memory problems and some matters concerning the plaintiff's care and the circumstances of the fall were peculiarly or appropriately within the defendant's knowledge, special reasons and necessity were established for interrogatories directed to facts in issue. Interrogatories seeking facts already known to the plaintiff, identification of witnesses, conclusions, written briefings, or hypothetical engineering-type matters were not allowed.

Court Disposition

Application for service of interrogatories allowed in part.

Orders

  • ['Allow service of interrogatories 2, 4(c), 5 if confined to oral briefings, 6(a), 7, 9, 10(b), 10(c) and 11.' 'Costs be costs in the cause.']