Donnelly v Kempsey Local Aboriginal Land Council [2020] NSWSC 1548

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Donnelly v Kempsey Local Aboriginal Land Council [2020] NSWSC 1548 Hearing dates: 26 October 2020 Date of orders: 4 November 2020 Decision date: 04 November 2020 Jurisdiction: Equity - Applications List Before: Williams J Decision: The defendant's notice of motion filed on 11 September 2020 is dismissed. Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – summary dismissal – whether reasonable cause of action disclosed on pleadings – where claims for relief in pleadings turn on complex questions of statutory construction of provisions in the Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) – not appropriate to make a determination of the construction and operation of those provisions on a summary dismissal application PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – summary dismissal – res judicata and Anshun estoppel – where plaintiff's earlier proceeding which included claims in contract and proprietary estoppel for the enforcement of a lease in respect of certain land was dismissed in orders made by consent – where notation in consent orders reserved issues in relation to the plaintiff's removal of dwelling, fixtures and fittings in respect of that land – claim by plaintiff in earlier proceeding for damages for value of improvements to that land dismissed on terms that plaintiff is not precluded from commencing fresh proceeding – where plaintiff commences subsequent proceeding claiming relief in proprietary estoppel or restitution for improvements alleged to have been made by the plaintiff to the same land – different causes of action in the earlier proceeding and the subsequent proceeding – whether claims raised in subsequent proceeding are so relevant to earlier proceeding as to make it unreasonable not to have raised them in the earlier proceeding – no res judicata or Anshun estoppel PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – summary dismissal – abuse of process – ulterior purpose – whether plaintiff's motive in commencing proceedings in the Supreme Court is to disrupt the hearing of a creditor's petition in the Federal Circuit Court – not an abuse of process Legislation Cited: Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW), ss 40, 40B, 42E, 50, 51 and Sch 4 Pt 9 (cls 50 and 51) Aboriginal Land Rights Amendment Act 2009 (NSW) Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW), s 56 Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW), ss 30 and 33 Real Property Act 1900 (NSW), ss 118 and 119 Supreme Court Act 1970 (NSW), s 63 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), rr 13.4 and 19.1 Cases Cited: Baumgartner v Baumgartner (1987) 164 CLR 137 CG Maloney Pty Ltd v Noon [2011] NSWCA 397 Champerslife Pty Ltd v Manojlovski (2010) 75 NSWLR 245; [2010] NSWCA 33 Conference & Exhibition Organisers Pty Ltd v Johnson [2016] NSWCA 118 Donnelly v Kempsey Local Aboriginal Land Council [2019] FCCA 3152 General Steel Industries Inc v Commissioner for Railways (NSW) (1964) 112 CLR 125 Habib v Radio 2UE Sydney Pty Ltd [2009] NSWCA 231 Johnson v Gore Wood & Co [2002] 2 AC 1 Lunt v Victoria International Container Terminal Ltd [2020] FCAFC 40 Muschinski v Dodds (1985) 160 CLR 583 Port of Melbourne Authority v Anshun Pty Ltd (1981) 147 CLR 589 Simmons v New South Wales Trustee and Guardian (2014) 17 BPR 33,717; [2014] NSWCA 405 Tomlinson v Ramsey Food Processing Pty Ltd (2015) 256 CLR 507; [2015] HCA 28 UBS AG v Tyne (2018) 265 CLR 77; [2018] HCA 45 Williams v Spautz (1992) 174 CLR 509 Zetta Jet Pte Ltd v Ship "Dragon Pearl" (No 2) (2018) 265 FCR 290; [2018] FCAFC 132 Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Lynette Joy Donnelly (Plaintiff) Kempsey Local Aboriginal Land Council (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr P Batley (Plaintiff) Mr M Maconachie (Defendant)