The appellant sued her father for damages arising from childhood sexual abuse.
The father had previously been convicted of criminal offences based on the same conduct.
At the civil trial, the father adduced evidence from his two sons, who claimed they had committed the abuse, not him.
The trial judge accepted this evidence and dismissed the action.
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that the trial judge erred in permitting the father to relitigate the underlying facts of his criminal conviction.
The evidence of the sons was not 'fresh evidence' as it was known prior to the criminal trial, and allowing the relitigation constituted an abuse of process.
