Cowell v. British American Tobacco Australia Services Ltd
Cowell v. British American Tobacco Australia Services Ltd [2003] HCA Trans 384
- Australia
- Oct 3, 2003
- High Court of Australia
Cowell v. British American Tobacco Australia Services Ltd [2003] HCA Trans 384
This was the hearing of the plaintiff's application for special leave to appeal against the decision of the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal had overturned the decision of Eames J striking out BATAS's defence on the basis that BATAS had not complied with orders for discovery and had subverted the discovery process, rendering it impossible for the plaintiff to have a fair trial. The Court of Appeal had agreed with the trial judge that BATAS had not complied with discovery. However, it disagreed that the prejudice that was caused to the plaintiff by this default warranted striking out the defence.
The High Court dismissed the plaintiff's application for special leave to appeal the Court of Appeal's decision because it was not persuaded that the prospects of demonstrating that the plaintiff could not have a fair trial were sufficient.
For the earlier decisions, see British American Tobacco Australia Services v. Cowell [2002] VSCA 197 and McCabe v British American Tobacco Australia Services Limited [2002] VSC 73.