Where a court identifies questions of causation as central to a claim but fails to make findings on those questions, this constitutes a failure to exercise jurisdiction and an error in point of law, even under a statutory appeal provision limited to appeals 'in point of law'. The phrase 'failure to give adequate reasons' encompasses a failure to make findings on essential elements of the case, and such a failure may engage s 142N of the District Court Act 1973 (NSW) even where a bare complaint of inadequacy of reasons might not. Whether a failure to give adequate reasons alone (as distinct from a failure to make findings) can ground an appeal under s 142N remains an open question.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 25 later cases that cite this judgment.
6 of the 25 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.