A witness who falsely attests a forged signature on a mortgage owes a duty of care to the property owner whose signature was forged, by analogy with the duty recognised in Hill v Van Erp. The duty arises irrespective of whether the witness acts as a justice of the peace or as an ordinary witness. A justice of the peace who attests a signature knowing the signatory was not present and not personally known to the JP acts 'maliciously' within s 135(2) of the Justices Act 1902 (NSW) and is not entitled to statutory immunity.
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