A consent judgment on a cross-claim between co-defendants does not bar the plaintiff or other defendants from subsequently joining the successful cross-defendant as a party. Section 5(1)(c) of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1946 (NSW) only protects tortfeasors who have been sued by the injured plaintiff and found not liable. Section 22(3)(b)(ii) of the Civil Procedure Act operates to bind cross-defendants by judgments in the principal proceedings, but does not operate upwards to bind the plaintiff by judgments on cross-claims.
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