Self Paced Lesson - Case Law - Subject Guide: 7: Source Similar Cases

Source similar cases on Lexis Advance

Use CaseBase to find similar cases to the High Court decision of the case Byrne v Australian Airlines Ltd (1995) 131 ALR 422.

1. Use Quick Find - Cases to search for the case by citation  131 ALR 422
2. From the Results list, select the CaseBase link below the case name
3. Look at Byrne v Australian Airlines Ltd (1995) 131 ALR 422 on CaseBase.
4. To the right of screen, you can see the Similar Issues to ... panel
   This lists cases with similar facts, issues or arguments
5. Scroll through the list, noting the Catchwords
6. Expand the Similarities list.
   The identified similarities with Byrne v Australian Airlines Ltd are:
   employment contract; entitlement to damages; findings of breach; term implied by law; dismissal of claims; incorporation of  terms
7. For further information about a case, hover over the case name to see an excerpt, or click on the case name to see the CaseBase entry.

No Similar Issues... panel?

If the case does not have a Similar Issues... panel, you can search for cases with the same catchwords.

Whether clause of award an implied term of contract.

1. Use Quick Find - Cases to search for the case by citation  131 ALR 422
2. From the Results list, select the CaseBase link below the case name
3. Look at Byrne v Australian Airlines Ltd (1995) 131 ALR 422 on CaseBase.
4. Navigate to the Catchwords (use the content menu)
5. Copy the relevant catchwords for sourcing similar cases
   Example: Industrial law — Awards — Contracts of employment
6. Navigate to Advanced Search - Cases
7. Paste the relevant catchwords into the Catchwords/Summary text box
   • enclose phrases in quotation marks
   • Add Boolean connector AND between search words and phrases
   • Example: "Industrial law" AND Awards AND "Contracts of employment"
   • Example:  "Contract of employment" AND "incorporation of terms" AND award
8. Click on the magnifying glass icon to Search
   • The search words and phrases will be found from the Catchwords and Case Summaries fields in each CaseBase record

Source similar cases on Westlaw Australia

If you are aware of a case and you need to find similar cases, KeyCite is a useful tool for sourcing cases similar to a particular case as it is a case citator.
Case entries include:

• Subject classifications. On KeyCite they are linked to other cases which have been classified with the same subject.
• Digests (summaries) of each case in relation to the subject classification. There may be several subject classifications and summaries for a complex case.

Use KeyCite to find similar cases to the High Court decision of the case Byrne v Australian Airlines Ltd.

1. Look at Byrne v Australian Airlines Ltd (1995) 185 CLR 410 
2. Notice the KeyCite numbers and subject headings to the right on the screen, within the Digest entry 
3. Click on any number in the KeyCite subject classification to find cases sharing that subject classification.
   For example, navigate to the classification sequence Employment law > Contract of Service > Terms of contract > Implied terms.
4. • If you click on  28k1016 Implied terms you will see a list of cases sharing this classification. 
5. The first, most recent (at the time of writing), case noted in relation to Public authorities generally is HMW Accounting & Financial Group v McPherson [2020] QSC 3. 
   • You can filter the Results list by
     • Key Number
     • Jurisdiction
     • Date
   • The default arrangement shown is by year with the most recent case at the top of the list. All jurisdictions are included.
     • Filter the results by 
       • expanding the Jurisdiction  + 
       • expanding  +  Australia
       • check the box for Western Australia
     • The most recent WA case on this subject is Pettit v Evolution Mining [2016] WADC 147
       b) the most cited case on this subject, which is Byrne v Australian Airlines Ltd (1995) 185 CLR 410.

Summary: Source similar cases on Westlaw Australia

1. Type case citation into the global Search box, enclosed in double inverted commas
    Example: "2009 NSWCA 148"

PAUSE
DO NOT CLICK SEARCH
WAIT FOR SUGGESTIONS

2. Select the relevant case from the drop-down suggestion/s

3. From the Case's Document tab, navigate down to the Digest pane.

4.Select: 

Option 1:

Key Number classification term to see other cases on this topic

Option 2:

Detailed Key Number (on right of screen) to see other cases on this specific point within the topic

5. Sort results by Most Cited to view the most important cases on a topic

Using Catchwords on AustLII to source similar cases

Use AustLII to find similar cases to the High Court decision of the case Commissioner of Taxation v Byrne Hotels Qld Pty Ltd [2011] FCAFC 127.

1. Look at Commissioner of Taxation v Byrne Hotels Qld Pty Ltd [2011] FCAFC 127 on AustLII.
2. Notice the Catchwords identifying main areas of law dealt with.
   Catchwords>TAXATION – capital gains tax – whether business eligible for capital gains tax concessions in Division 152 of Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 (Cth) – whether the maximum net asset value test in s 152-15 of the Act is satisfied – meaning of “liabilities” in s 152-20(1) of the Act – whether real estate commission and legal fees were “liabilities” for purposes of s 152-20(1) “just before” the CGT event
3. Identify the relevant catchwords to be used in a search for similar cases. 
4. Identify synonyms for the search words

5. Create search string using Boolean Operators
   (("capital gains tax" OR CGT) W/10 concession) AND (("Income Tax Assessment Act 1997" OR ITAA) AND 152) AND liabilit* AND (("real estate" OR property OR success) w/5 (commission OR charge OR fee))
6. Use AustLII's Advanced Search. Select the Boolean Query tab
7. Paste the search string into the search box
8. Scroll down. Select only the All Case Law Databases to search
9. Select the Advanced Search button below the Databases list
10. Scroll through the list, noting the Catchwords, and, below this, the identified Similarities for each case.
    For example, scroll down the list to the case Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Barker (2014) 312 ALR 356.
11. (capital gains tax OR CGT) AND (concession OR deduction) AND ("Income Tax Assessment Act 1997" AND 152)"
    The identified similarities with Byrne v Australian Airlines Ltd are:
    employment contract; entitlement to damages; findings of breach; term implied by law; dismissal of claims; incorporation of  terms
12. For further information about a case, hover over the case name to see an excerpt, or click on the case name to see the CaseBase entry.

Using Visualisations Feature on Jade to source similar cases

If you are aware of a case and you need to find similar cases, Jade's visualisations are a useful tool for sourcing cases similar to a particular case. 

Use the Visualisations to find similar cases to the High Court decision of the case Byrne v Australian Airlines Ltd.

1. Log in to Jade *  to access the Professional features 
2. Look at Byrne v Australian Airlines Ltd (1995) 185 CLR 410 on Jade
3. To the left on the screen, click on the Visualisations icon
   • Visualisation tools represent information graphically
4. Select the Similarity box
5. Similarity is a measure of how many citations which occur in the source document the two cases have in common.
   This means that what is measured is not how similar two cases are in a general sense, but how similar they are in the context of the report source document.

*  Jade

Jade provides all  Australian legal judgments from Australian Courts and Tribunals.

Register for free with your Murdoch University student email to automatically receive Jade Professional access.

Your Jade login details have been sent to your Murdoch Student email account: [StudentNumber]@student.murdoch.edu.au.

Jade Professional enables the Visualisations feature, and allows the creation of JADE Alerts.

Additionally, the Citation functionality is enhanced (you will need this to complete the lesson and Library Research Test).

Jade is a valuable legal research tool as it is available for free, unlike databases such as Lexis Advance and Westlaw AU that require a subscription fee.

Has the Case Been Appealed?

Check the Progress of a Case/ Find Future Listings for Federal Court Cases

Jade

1. If the decision has been appealed, a yellow bar will appear at the top of the document, with links to the subsequent decisions

2. Litigation History in theCaseTrace box links to a specific section of the Citation Report that lists the progression of the case