The enquiry under s 11(3)(b) of the Limitation Act 1969 (NSW) requires a holistic assessment of whether the person can reason normally about the various aspects involved in bringing a claim, including the exercise of willpower to initiate and continue with proceedings. A serialised approach asking whether the person could perform each discrete step in isolation is rejected as providing a false simplicity. A disability may arise during the running of the limitation period and need not exist at its commencement. The dissent raises an important question about the causal link between mental impairment and failure to commence proceedings where fear independently explains both the mental condition and the inaction.
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