Jump to full article: The Age (au), 2007-03-18
Intro: THE family of lung cancer victim Rolah McCabe has welcomed a surprise NSW court ruling to transfer a case launched by British American Tobacco back to Victoria.
The family believes the decision will help in its long fight for justice. Mrs McCabe's daughter, Roxanne Cowell, said: "It's all very exciting."
"My family are very pleased that the case is returning to Victoria because it was in the Victorian court that the wrong was done to my mother," Mrs Cowell said. . . .
BAT had taken legal action in NSW instead of Victoria to try to stop a secret internal report by its former lawyers, Clayton Utz, which had been leaked to The Sunday Age, from being used in future lawsuits.
The Sunday Age last year revealed that the damning internal report found two of Clayton Utz's senior lawyers had engaged in serious professional misconduct in the way they handled the McCabe case when acting for BAT.
In what is seen by the McCabe family and their lawyers, Slater & Gordon, as a significant blow to BAT, NSW Supreme Court judge Paul Brereton ruled on Friday that the case should be transferred to Melbourne.
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