Rodriguez & Sons Pty Ltd v Queensland Bulk Water Supply Authority trading as Seqwater (No 8) [2017] NSWSC 554

Rodriguez & Sons Pty Ltd v Queensland Bulk Water Supply Authority trading as Seqwater (No 8) [2017] NSWSC 554

The fourth amended statement of claim was not liable to be struck out on the pleaded grounds because the impugned paragraphs served to identify the plaintiff's causation case and counterfactual water levels, not to plead every operational step constituting breach, and any concern about 'reasonably prudent flood operations since that time' was a matter for clarification rather than strike out. The pre-January 2011 breach allegations were not struck out at this point because, although there appeared to be force in the contention that they lacked causal consequences for the lead plaintiff, other group members might still be affected and the issue should be revisited at the hearing. The...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
03 May 2017
Procedural Posture
Representative Action / Application by the First Defendant to Strike Out the Fourth Amended Statement of Claim and for Orders Concerning Expert Reports
Outcome
Seqwater's strike-out application was rejected; the application concerning pre-January 2011 breach allegations was stood over to the first day of the October 2017 hearing; orders were made for limited further material from Dr Christensen and notification of the plaintiff's case, with the amended notice of motion...
Legal Topics
['strike Out of Pleading' 'expert Evidence' 'flood Mitigation Operations' 'causation' 'particularisation of Pleadings']
['civil Procedure' 'evidence' 'negligence' 'representative Proceedings'] ['strike Out of Pleading' 'expert Evidence' 'flood Mitigation Operations' 'causation' 'particularisation of Pleadings']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Representative Action / Application by the First Defendant to Strike Out the Fourth Amended Statement of Claim and for Orders Concerning Expert Reports

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the fourth amended statement of claim should be struck out under r 14.28 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 because it failed to plead the steps required of a reasonably prudent flood engineer during counterfactual periods.' "Whether allegations of breach before January 2011 should be dismissed or struck out because the evidence suggested they had no causal consequence for the lead plaintiff's flooding." "What orders should be made to address alleged inconsistencies and deficiencies in Dr Christensen's expert reports, including whether further simulations should be permitted."]

Ratio Decidendi

The fourth amended statement of claim was not liable to be struck out on the pleaded grounds because the impugned paragraphs served to identify the plaintiff's causation case and counterfactual water levels, not to plead every operational step constituting breach, and any concern about 'reasonably prudent flood operations since that time' was a matter for clarification rather than strike out. The pre-January 2011 breach allegations were not struck out at this point because, although there appeared to be force in the contention that they lacked causal consequences for the lead plaintiff, other group members might still be affected and the issue should be revisited at the hearing. The...

Court Disposition

Seqwater's strike-out application was rejected; the application concerning pre-January 2011 breach allegations was stood over to the first day of the October 2017 hearing; orders were made for limited further material from Dr Christensen and notification of the plaintiff's case, with the amended notice of motion...

Orders

  • ["Leave be granted to the plaintiff to serve a further affidavit or report addressing the issues raised concerning Dr Christensen's reports dated 19 February 2015, 3 July 2015 and 22 December 2016 by Seqwater in annexure A to its amended notice of motion filed in Court on 3 May 2017, limited to exposing the process...