Delay in serving and filing evidence can be a dangerous thing sometimes. The case of The Owners – Strata Plan No. 94784 v Mirvac Projects Pty Ltd (No 3) [2024] NSWSC 936 is informative in this regard.
In the matter the plaintiff sought the leave of the Court to rely on expert reports served very late in breach of a “Guillotine order”. The plaintiff’s had effectively bought a motion to rely on further late expert evidence. The plaintiff solicitor was ordered to ‘show cause’ why he should not personally meet the costs of the motion and why he should not charge, his client, the plaintiff, for those costs. A more junior solicitor for the plaintiff had initially attempted to explain the delays in serving the reports as being due to ‘competing commitments and other general reasons’. However, for various reasons including the timing of the retainment of the experts the Court did not accept that initial explanation and so, it was left with the supervising lawyers to show cause. Fortunately, the further evidence showed that the delay was not caused by solicitors and the Court (Stevenson J) did not find grounds for personal costs orders.
It should always be remembered that evidence especially in the form of expert reports, should be lodged on time and every effort should be made to ensure that the case management timetable imposed by the courts and tribunals is met and abided by, especially where ‘guillotine orders’ are in place (these orders mandate the lodgement of material by a certain date – if there is a breach, the party responsible needs to provide an explanation to the court in order to have that evidence permitted).
Our solicitors at Papallo Kouchoo are experts in ensuring that your matter is conducted with efficiency and you receive the right advice, at the right time.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us for a professional free consultation.
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