Bodycorp Repairers Pty Ltd v Holding Redlich

[2018] VSCA 17

Victorian Court of Appeal

Built by Barristers,
For Australian Law.

See how it works

Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Limitation of Actions
2. › Accrual of cause of action
3. › Negligence
4. › Professional negligence — solicitors
5. › When loss first suffered
6. › Whether loss suffered upon entry into defective agreement or upon occurrence of contingent events
7. › Whether cause of action accrued when restraint clause found unenforceable or when AAMI failed to comply with clause
8. › Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic), s 5
1. Practice and Procedure
2. › Summary judgment
3. › Whether appropriate to determine limitation defence on summary basis
4. › Whether evidence at trial could affect analysis of when cause of action accrued
5. › Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic), s 63
1. Courts and Judges
2. › Apprehended bias
3. › Application for summary judgment
4. › Whether judge acted with reasonable apprehension of bias in dealing with preliminary applications
5. › Whether pejorative comments gave rise to apprehension of bias
6. › Whether acceptance of affidavit evidence without cross-examination gave rise to apprehension of bias
7. › Ebner v Official Trustee in Bankruptcy (2000) 205 CLR 337 applied
1. Courts and Judges
2. › Natural justice
3. › Whether denial of natural justice where judge dismissed summons to reopen without adjudication
4. › Whether denial of natural justice where judge refused application to cross-examine

Quick Take

Practitioners advising on limitation periods in solicitors' negligence claims should note that where the alleged negligence relates to defective drafting of a contractual provision, the cause of action accrues when the defect causes actual loss (i.e., when the contingency to which the provision was directed occurs and the provision fails), not when a court later declares the provision unenforceable.