Exemplary damages awarded in civil proceedings are not set aside or barred by the defendant's subsequent acquittal in criminal proceedings arising from the same conduct, as no question of double punishment arises where the defendant has not been punished. The McMahon v Gould guidelines remain the governing framework for stay applications where civil and criminal proceedings overlap, and an appellate court will not intervene in the exercise of discretion where the complaints raised on appeal were not advanced before the trial judge. The question whether the McMahon v Gould guidelines sufficiently reflect the public interest in the primacy of criminal justice administration remains open.
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