Jeray v Blue Mountains City Council [2010] NSWLEC 123

Jeray v Blue Mountains City Council [2010] NSWLEC 123

The amended notice of motion was dismissed because there was no evidence that the Council had made a decision restricting access to documents so as to enliven s 12A of the Local Government Act 1993, the applicant had not assisted the Council to identify the alleged missing documents, compelling the Council to produce documents in the manner sought would reverse the onus of proof, the request for officer names was premature, and the orders sought would not facilitate the overriding purpose under ss 56-58 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
09 July 2010
Procedural Posture
Amended Notice of Motion in Land and Environment Court Proceedings / Interlocutory Motion
Outcome
Amended notice of motion dismissed; costs of the amended notice of motion reserved for determination by the trial judge; procedural directions made.
Legal Topics
['production of Documents' 'access to Council Documents' 'subpoena or Notice to Produce' 'overriding Purpose' 'costs Reserved']
['practice and Procedure' 'local Government' 'civil Procedure'] ['production of Documents' 'access to Council Documents' 'subpoena or Notice to Produce' 'overriding Purpose' 'costs Reserved']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Amended Notice of Motion in Land and Environment Court Proceedings / Interlocutory Motion

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the Council should be ordered to produce documents alleged to have been removed from council development application files.' 'Whether s 12A of the Local Government Act 1993 entitled the applicant to a list of documents allegedly removed from the files.' 'Whether the Council should be ordered to provide the names of council officers who had access to the files.' 'Whether the amended notice of motion would facilitate the just, quick and cheap resolution of the real issues in the proceedings.']

Ratio Decidendi

The amended notice of motion was dismissed because there was no evidence that the Council had made a decision restricting access to documents so as to enliven s 12A of the Local Government Act 1993, the applicant had not assisted the Council to identify the alleged missing documents, compelling the Council to produce documents in the manner sought would reverse the onus of proof, the request for officer names was premature, and the orders sought would not facilitate the overriding purpose under ss 56-58 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005.

Court Disposition

Amended notice of motion dismissed; costs of the amended notice of motion reserved for determination by the trial judge; procedural directions made.

Orders

  • ['The amended notice of motion is dismissed.' 'The question of the costs of the amended notice of motion is reserved for determination by the trial judge.' 'The applicant is to issue any subpoena or notice to produce to the council by 13 July 2010, such subpoena or notice to produce to be made returnable on 27 July...