Phillip Ruddock has attacked the use of courts and legal proceedings to spin out delay and obfuscate matters in certain 'unwinnable' case's.

Federal Court Justice Alan Goldberg's recent decision about the ethical behaviour of a legal team became big news because one of the legal team was Ian Callinan, then a senior barrister, now a High Court Justice.

Twelve years ago a legal firm was playing hardball litigation on behalf of Mr Herscu's property development company against a building company.

Justice Goldberg found their tactics included: starting a court case with little merit for the purpose of delaying payment of money owned to the builder, and buying some time to get a better bargaining position. And further, putting as many procedural hurdles as possible in the path of the case on its way to court, including for example, 700 pages of interrogatories (which are written questions to be answered on oath).

Justice Goldberg found that the law firm breached the duty it owed to the court: to conduct proceedings before the court with propriety, not to be party to an abuse of process and not to obstruct or defeat the administration of justice. He ordered the law firm to pay money to the builder, and the firm has until 4th August to appeal.

Delaying tactics, paper warfare, procedural skirmishes and intimidation by superior firepower, or more expensive weapons, are not so uncommon in serious litigation, as many clients, if not lawyers, would attest.

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/lawrpt/lstories/lr980728.htm

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