James Mark Waugh & Ors v TAFE NSW Western Institute & Anor (No 2) [2013] NSWSC 1661

James Mark Waugh & Ors v TAFE NSW Western Institute & Anor (No 2) [2013] NSWSC 1661

The alleged admissions were relevant to a fact in issue, namely the second defendant's knowledge of matters pleaded concerning the risk of the horse bolting, and s 81 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) made evidence of the admissions admissible notwithstanding the hearsay and opinion rules. The matters raised about lapse of time and intervening investigations went to weight rather than admissibility, and the notice to admit process and the newspaper article gave sufficient notice of the substance of Ms Harris's evidence. The Court was not persuaded to exercise the s 135 discretion to exclude the evidence.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
30 October 2013
Procedural Posture
Common Law / Procedural Ruling on Admissibility of Evidence
Outcome
Evidence admitted; Ms Harris permitted to give evidence in the usual way.
Legal Topics
['admissibility of Evidence' 'admissions' 'hearsay Rule' 'opinion Rule' 'probative Value' 'unfair Prejudice' 'notice to Admit Facts and Authenticity of Documents']
['evidence'] ['admissibility of Evidence' 'admissions' 'hearsay Rule' 'opinion Rule' 'probative Value' 'unfair Prejudice' 'notice to Admit Facts and Authenticity of Documents']

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

Common Law / Procedural Ruling on Admissibility of Evidence

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether evidence from Ms Michelle Harris of alleged admissions made by the second defendant was relevant and admissible.' 'Whether the hearsay rule and opinion rule applied to the alleged admissions.' 'Whether the evidence should be excluded under s 135 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) because its probative value was substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice, risk of being misleading or confusing, or undue waste of time.' 'Whether the absence of a witness statement from Ms Harris justified excluding the evidence.']

Ratio Decidendi

The alleged admissions were relevant to a fact in issue, namely the second defendant's knowledge of matters pleaded concerning the risk of the horse bolting, and s 81 of the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) made evidence of the admissions admissible notwithstanding the hearsay and opinion rules. The matters raised about lapse of time and intervening investigations went to weight rather than admissibility, and the notice to admit process and the newspaper article gave sufficient notice of the substance of Ms Harris's evidence. The Court was not persuaded to exercise the s 135 discretion to exclude the evidence.

Court Disposition

Evidence admitted; Ms Harris permitted to give evidence in the usual way.

Orders

  • ['My ruling is that I will permit the evidence of Ms Harris to be given in the usual way.']