2025/00394794
| Date | Party | Submission |
|---|---|---|
| 12/12/2025 | Applicant | Draft Notice of Appeal (PDF, 96.7 KB) |
| 26/3/2026 | Applicant | Submissions (PDF, 2.1 MB) |
| 27/3/2026 | Applicant | Chronology (PDF, 335.0 KB) |
| 28/4/2026 | Respondent | Amended Draft Notice of Contention (PDF, 178.1 KB) |
| 28/4/2026 | Respondent | Submissions (PDF, 488.1 KB) |
| 18/5/2026 | Applicant | Reply (PDF, 260.0 KB) |
| 21/5/2026 | Respondent | Certification for Publication (PDF, 305.9 KB) |
| 22/5/2026 | Applicant | Certification for Publication (PDF, 85.9 KB) |
TORTS – the State of NSW seeks leave to appeal from the answers to certain common questions relating to the powers of or to conduct strip searches at festivals, resulting in a judgment of $93,000 plus an undetermined amount of exemplary damages against the State. Raya Meredith, the respondent, is the lead plaintiff. She was unlawfully strip-searched by NSW Police at a music festival in 2018, involving highly invasive directions despite no drugs being found. The State initially denied liability but conceded that the strip search was unlawful under s 31 (b) of the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW) (LEPRA), admitting that the officers lacked reasonable grounds to suspect that the strip search was necessary. Justice Yehia held that the police have no power to issue directions or use physical force to compel compliance by a person the subject of a strip search, finding that the strip search was unlawful and constituted assault, battery, and false imprisonment. The Court rejected the defence brought under s 50C of the Limitation Act 1969 (NSW), ruling that claims for aggravated and exemplary damages were not time-barred because humiliation and distress do not amount to "personal injury". Damages were awarded as follows: $3,000 for battery, $25,000 for assault, $15,000 for false imprisonment, and $50,000 in aggravated damages (including $20,000 for the defendant's improper conduct during litigation). The respondent was also entitled to exemplary damages for systemic failures in training and supervision, but the quantum was deferred until determination of other group members' claims. On appeal, six questions are said to arise: (1) whether the power of police to conduct a strip search of a person includes power to force a person to bend over or otherwise move their body to facilitate the search; (2) whether aggravated damages may and should be awarded for battery, assault, and/or false imprisonment for the State's conduct of its defence; (3) whether the amounts of compensatory damages involve double counting; (4) whether an award of exemplary damages was justified; (5) whether the defence brought under s 5OC of the Limitation Act should apply; and (6) whether certain answers to common questions were incorrectly expressed.
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