BEK v BEL
[2024] QCA 154 · Brown J (Morrison and Dalton JJA)
A woman sued her former husband for damages after he raped her three times in 2001 while she was a hospital patient. He pleaded guilty to three counts of rape in 2021, and she then started a civil claim. Because so much time had passed, she needed the court's permission to bring the claim late. A District Court judge granted that permission, finding that her husband's guilty pleas were a key new piece of evidence that only then made her claim worth pursuing. The husband appealed, arguing she had always known everything she needed to sue and so should not get extra time. The Court of Appeal disagreed and dismissed his appeal. It held that until he pleaded guilty, her case rested only on her own word against his, making the litigation too risky and not worthwhile; the guilty pleas gave her independent proof that crossed the line. This judgment only decided the limitation question, the underlying claim for damages was not determined in this decision.
Incident & injury
Three counts of rape committed by appellant (husband) against respondent (wife) in a public toilet of a hospital while respondent was an inpatient in November 2001
- Body regions
- Psychiatric
- Incident date
- November 2001
- Location
- Townsville (hospital)
Quick facts
- Date of judgment
- 27 August 2024
- Claim type
- Historical Abuse
- Proceeding
- Appeal
- Plaintiff outcome
- Successful
- Plaintiff age at injury
- Occupation
- Not stated
Outcome
Appeal from grant of extension of limitation period under s 31 Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld) dismissed by majority (Morrison JA and Brown J; Dalton JA dissenting). Majority held appellant's pleas of guilty to three counts of rape constituted a material fact of a decisive character relating to the respondent's right of action in battery, preserving the extension of time granted at first instance.
Key issues
BEK v BEL [2024] QCA 154
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Learn more about institutional abuse claims and psychological injury claims in Queensland.