Toth v Stewart & Associates [2021] NSWSC 1522

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Toth v Stewart & Associates [2021] NSWSC 1522 Hearing dates: 22 March 2021 Date of orders: 26 November 2021 Decision date: 26 November 2021 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Hamill J Decision: (1) Extension of time to appeal granted (2) Leave to appeal granted (3) Appeal dismissed (4) Plaintiff to pay the defendants' costs Catchwords: CIVIL LAW – advocate's immunity - Magistrate's order for summary dismissal - plaintiff's claim for negligence and breach of contract against solicitors who acted in criminal proceedings - appeal against Magistrate's order - whether Magistrate exhibited bias - whether application an abuse of process - whether Magistrate erred in conducting a "hybrid hearing" conflating immunity with summary judgment - whether Magistrate applied the wrong test - self represented litigant - not his first rodeo - allowance made for pleadings and submissions - scatter gun - whether whole of claim bound to be defeated by immunity - whether disputed facts required resolution in final hearing Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW), s 91L Summary Offences Act 1988 (NSW), s 4(1) Fair Trading Act 1987 (NSW) Local Court Act 2007 (NSW) ss 39, 40 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) r 13.4, 14.28 Cases Cited: Attwells v Jackson Lalic Lawyers Pty Limited (2016) 259 CLR 1; [2016] HCA 16 Commonwealth Bank of Australia v ZYX Learning Centres Ltd [2014] NSWSC 1676; (2014) 103 ACSR 476 Donnellan v Woodland [2012] NSWCA 433 D'Orta-Ekenaike v Victoria Legal Aid (2005) 223 CLR 1; [2005] HCA 12 Giannarelli v Wraith (1988) 165 CLR 543; [1988] HCA 52 Golden v Koffel [2021] NSWSC 739 Keefe v Marks (1989) 16 NSWLR 713 Kendirjian v Lepore (2017) 259 CLR 275; [2017] HCA 13 Macatangay v NSW (No 2) [2009] NSWCA 272 Nikolaidis v Satouris [2014] NSWCA 448; (2014) 317 ALR 761 Rees v Sinclair [1974] 1 NZLR 180 Toth v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) [2017] NSWCA 344 Toth v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) [2018] NSWCA 253 Young v Hones [2014] NSWCA 337 Texts Cited: Ritchie's Uniform Civil Procedure [13.1.65] Category: Principal judgment Parties: Andrew Toth (Plaintiff) Stewart & Associates (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: D Lloyd SC and S Andrews (Defendant)