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The risk of a permanent stay application in historical child abuse cases

The Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore v GLJ [2022] NSWCA 78

Case Overview
  • The New South Wales courts passed an Act that a victim of child sexual abuse can file no matter how long ago the abuse happened.
  • GLJ filed a claim against the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore for abuse committed to her by Father Anderson.
  • Their honours overturned the decision at first instance and granted the permanent stay to the Lismore Trust.

As a result of the passing of the Limitation Amendment (Child Abuse) Act 2016 (NSW), time limits were abolished for the commencement of civil claims for historical child sexual abuse and serious physical abuse. This reform inevitably resulted in a number of cases of historical abuse in New South Wales Courts. 

However, in some cases, the alleged perpetrator had long since died before the claims commenced.

In the case of GLJ, the plaintiff, initiated proceedings against the trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Diocese of Lismore for sexual abuse by a priest, Father Anderson. GLJ alleged the crimes were perpetrated by the priest when she was 14 years old in 1968. Unfortunately, the priest had died in 1996 prior to GLJ coming forward with her allegation against him.

“The Judge refused the Lismore Trusts application for a permanent stay.”

Gerard Dias
Our Approach

The Lismore Trust, the defendant, filed a notice of motion seeking a permanent stay, or a halt of proceedings, as it aligned with S 67 of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW). They also filed a notice for the proceedings to be dismissed in pursuit of rule 13.4(1)(c) of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW). The Judge refused the Lismore Trusts’ application for a permanent stay.

In the Court of Appeal, Mitchelmore JA, Macfarlan JA and Brereton JA held that the defendant was at a significant disadvantage on the issue of whether Father Anderson sexually assaulted GLJ. Further, it was determined that the Lismore Trust was unable to respond to GLJ’s claim in circumstances where there was no record related to GLJ’s specific allegations. 

There was an absence of any opportunity to place allegations against Father Anderson and others who were appointed within the Diocese at the time. 

This is a complex area of law and the specialist historical child abuse lawyers at Gerard Malouf & Partners are in the best position to advise you of your rights in bringing a claim for any historical abuse that you have suffered. Call 1800 959 280 to speak to one of our specialist lawyers or fill out an enquiry form.

The Result

Their honours overturned the decision at first instance and granted the permanent stay to the Lismore Trust.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Information

Division 10 of the Crimes Act 1900 outlines the criminal offence of sexual assault, as well as the definitions for ‘sexual intercourse’ and other related terminology.

Put simply, sexual assault constitutes any unwanted sexual behaviour committed by one person or a group of people towards another without consent. Continue reading for more information.

The commission has hit headlines recently due to its work in uncovering child sexual abuse claims against various religious organisations across Australia.

However, it’s not just the church that the agency investigates; all major institutions fall under its remit, including schools, sports clubs and government organisations. The authority explores private, public and non-government bodies that have at any point in time interacted with children.

A statute of limitations effectively sets a time limit on the start of legal proceedings. For offences that have a statute of limitations, claims have to be brought before the time limit expires.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of sexual assault or physical or mental abuse as an adult, the statute of limitations is three years. If the victim was a child at the time of the offence there is no time limit.

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Meet the diverse and dynamic team of compensation lawyers and supporting staff that have made this all happen below. Our multi-lingual team can discuss your claims in Arabic, Assyrian, Turkish, Greek, Italian, French, Serbian, Croatian, Armenian, Mandarin, Hindi, Punjabi or Malayalam.

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