Recusal For Apparent Bias Is Not A New Frontier

Introduction

In a recent judgment in Re New Frontier Health Corporation,¹ delivered on 27 January 2026, Justice Doyle decided that he should recuse himself from that matter entirely, such that he would not hear the trial which was due to commence just a few weeks later to determine the fair value of the shares that dissenting minority shareholders held in the subject company prior to a statutory merger.  The recusal was sought on the basis that the learned Judge had recently delivered judgment in a substantially similar matter, Re 51job Inc,² in which he had made findings as to the reliability and credibility of the same two valuation experts who would give evidence at the New Frontier trial, and strongly preferred the evidence of one of those experts whilst rejecting and severely criticising the evidence that had been given by the other.  In such circumstances, the dissenting shareholders in New Frontier submitted that a fair-minded and informed observer would conclude that there