Marino v Bello [2024] NSWDC 149

Marino v Bello [2024] NSWDC 149

The default judgment established liability for malicious prosecution and collateral abuse of process only as to matters necessarily and legally indispensable to that judgment. The plaintiff did not prove any particular pecuniary, monetary or economic loss, but the court accepted that he suffered damage to reputation, psychological distress including living under threat of arrest for 13 months, embarrassment and humiliation, exacerbated by the first defendant's repeated deployment of the ADVO in family law proceedings. Compensatory damages were assessed at $50,000. The false obtaining and deliberate repeated use of the ADVO warranted aggravated damages of $15,000. The matters relied on did...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
08 May 2024
Procedural Posture
Civil Tort Proceedings for Malicious Prosecution and Collateral Abuse of Process / Assessment of Damages After Default Judgment for Unliquidated Damages
Outcome
Judgment for the plaintiff against the first defendant in the sum of $65,000, with the first defendant to pay the plaintiff's costs of the proceedings.
Legal Topics
['collateral Abuse of Process' 'malicious Prosecution' 'assessment of Damages' 'default Judgment for Damages to Be Assessed' 'aggravated Damages' 'exemplary Damages']
['torts' 'civil Procedure' 'evidence'] ['collateral Abuse of Process' 'malicious Prosecution' 'assessment of Damages' 'default Judgment for Damages to Be Assessed' 'aggravated Damages' 'exemplary Damages']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Civil Tort Proceedings for Malicious Prosecution and Collateral Abuse of Process / Assessment of Damages After Default Judgment for Unliquidated Damages

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['What facts were necessarily and with complete precision determined by the entry of default judgment for damages to be assessed.' 'What principles apply to assessment of damages for malicious prosecution and collateral abuse of process.' 'Whether the plaintiff proved pecuniary, reputational, psychological, embarrassment or humiliation loss.' 'Whether aggravated damages should be awarded.' 'Whether exemplary damages should be awarded.']

Ratio Decidendi

The default judgment established liability for malicious prosecution and collateral abuse of process only as to matters necessarily and legally indispensable to that judgment. The plaintiff did not prove any particular pecuniary, monetary or economic loss, but the court accepted that he suffered damage to reputation, psychological distress including living under threat of arrest for 13 months, embarrassment and humiliation, exacerbated by the first defendant's repeated deployment of the ADVO in family law proceedings. Compensatory damages were assessed at $50,000. The false obtaining and deliberate repeated use of the ADVO warranted aggravated damages of $15,000. The matters relied on did...

Court Disposition

Judgment for the plaintiff against the first defendant in the sum of $65,000, with the first defendant to pay the plaintiff's costs of the proceedings.

Orders

  • ['Judgment for the plaintiff against the first defendant in the sum of $65,000.' "First defendant to pay the plaintiff's costs of the proceedings."]