Williams v Harrison [2021] NSWSC 1488

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Williams v Harrison [2021] NSWSC 1488 Hearing dates: 29 August 2021 Date of orders: 18 November 2021 Decision date: 18 November 2021 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Hamill J Decision: (1) The appeal is allowed. (2) The decision of the Toronto Local Court on 14 January 2021 striking out the plaintiff's claim is quashed. (3) The defendant's notice of motion for summary dismissal is remitted to the Toronto Local Court to be dealt with according to law. (4) No order as to costs. Catchwords: CIVIL LAW - appeal from Local Court - plaintiff self-represented - documents lacking legal finesse - where plaintiff did not appear - where statement of claim struck out - procedural fairness - confusion - woefully inadequate record - conflict as to whether matter dealt with in court or chambers - the plaintiff's right to be heard - failure to give reasons - appeal allowed and matter remitted to the Local Court Legislation Cited: Limitation Act 1969 (NSW) s 14 Local Court Act 2007 (NSW) ss 39, 40 Local Court Rules 2009 (NSW) r 4.4 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) r 13.4, 13.6, 14.28 Cases Cited: Do Carmo v Ford Excavations Pty Ltd (1984) 154 CLR 234 McDonald v Grech; Bank of Western Australia Ltd v McDonald [2012] NSWSC 717 Wardley Australia v Western Australia (1992) 175 CLR 514; [1992] HCA 55 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Karl Williams (Plaintiff) Malcom John Harrison (Defendant) Representation: Solicitors: Maclean Glaser Lawyers (Defendant) File Number(s): 2021/00158454 and 2021/00042926 Publication restriction: Nil