The Court refused the State of Queensland's application to transfer a nervous shock proceeding from the Supreme Court of Victoria to the Supreme Court of Queensland under s 5(2)(b)(iii) of the Jurisdiction of Courts (Cross-vesting) Act 1987. While the tort occurred in Queensland and liability witnesses were located there, the Court held that these factors were counterbalanced by the plaintiff's residence in Victoria, her treating and medico-legal experts practising in Melbourne, her psychiatric condition, her straitened financial circumstances, and the availability of video link evidence for Queensland-based witnesses. The decision illustrates that the personal circumstances and health of a plaintiff, including financial hardship and psychiatric vulnerability, can be given significant weight in the 'interests of justice' balancing exercise.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 43 later cases that cite this judgment.
4 of the 43 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.