In the NSW Supreme Court last Friday, the State of NSW proposed orders which could have resulted in up to 10,000 potential members of the class action being required to run their own individual proceedings.
Slater and Gordon Senior Associate, Class Actions, William Zerno said:
“It is extraordinary that after losing the class action and now foreshadowing an appeal from the judgment, the State considered it appropriate to propose a process by which thousands of group members in this proceeding would potentially run their own individual claims to access compensation.
“Given the class is estimated to be somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 persons, it is an astonishing suggestion that individual trials might be required.
“This is something that has never happened in the near thirty-year history of class actions in Australia. To run that number of individual trials would cost more than what the claim itself is worth and would clog up the Court system for years.”
During the course of the hearing, the State of NSW abandoned the proposal and were ordered by the Court to mediate instead. It is not yet known however if the State will seek to re-enliven a process which could see the Courts clogged up hearing individual matters for years.
The State of NSW has until 30 December 2025 to decide if its intention to appeal will proceed.
“It is also surprising that the NSW Police after admitting that there was no lawful basis for the strip search of the lead plaintiff would seek to continue through an appeal to deny that the thousands of other searches were also without lawful basis, including the hundreds of group members who were searched at the same festival as the lead plaintiff."
Redfern Legal Centre Supervising Solicitor Sam Lee said:
“It’s a great outcome for young people that Her Honour has ordered the proceedings keep moving forward.
“Redfern Legal Centre will continue to advocate for the rights of young people and children and will continue to keep police accountable.”
https://www.slatergordon.com.au/class-actions/current-class-actions/nsw-unlawful-strip-searches
Media Contact, Slater and Gordon
Rebecca Nicholson 0409 216 053 [email protected]
Media Contact, Redfern Legal Centre
Lauren Gillin 0493 315 023 [email protected]
Contact details:
Slater and Gordon- Rebecca Nicholson 0409 216 053
Redfern Legal Centre- Lauren Gillin- 0439 315 023