A recent judgment in the NSW Supreme Court considered the
admissibility of new opinions arising out of joint expert
conferences. In this article, Andrew Ross examines the judgment and
its potential broader implications for expert opinions expressed in
joint reports and concurrent evidence.
Background
On 2 September 2012, the father of Christopher Bezer
('Chris') and his step-brother, Troy Bassan died in a car
accident. Four days later, Chris and Troy set out from Mendooran in
rural New South Wales to see a lawyer in Dubbo about their
father's funeral.
At about 10.15 am, the ute Chris and Troy were travelling in ran
off the road about 20 kilometres south-west of Mendooran. It
travelled around 50 metres before tumbling end on end and coming to
rest. Chris was severely injured and had to be extracted from the
ute by emergency workers. Troy was only slightly injured and was
able to climb out. There were no signs of braking on the road or
roadside, suggesting that
