1A claim in detinue requires the claimant to prove a right to immediate physical possession of sufficiently identifiable goods, that the goods were in the respondent's possession, that a lawful demand was made, and that the respondent refused delivery; proving the existence of the goods is an element the claimant must establish, and mere suspicion or speculation as to their existence is insufficient.
2Documents created by a professional (such as general ledgers, working papers and data files) in the course of performing professional duties are not the property of the lay client but remain the property of the professional, consistent with Breen v Williams [1996] HCA 57; 186 CLR 71, and a letter of engagement allocating ownership of such documents may continue to apply notwithstanding a change in the client company's directorship.
3The adequacy of a magistrate's reasons is assessed against the pressures of the summary jurisdiction and must be read fairly as a whole; where a finding on a specific item is implicit in the magistrate's overall reasoning and approach to the evidence, the absence of a discrete paragraph addressing that item does not constitute a failure to give adequate reasons.
