Australia, April 28 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on March 28:
1. The plaintiff seeks an order that the defendant attend to be cross examined on his affidavits of discovery.
2. The defendant, who is represented in the proceedings, does not oppose the order.
3. The general rule is that an affidavit of discovery is conclusive, and that cross-examination on an affidavit of discovery is not permitted except in exceptional circumstances. [1] The most recent judicial consideration of this question that I have been able to locate is that of Garling J in Con Ange v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd. [2] In that decision, Garling J expressed a more nuanced view than had perhaps hitherto been...