HOOPER v THE LOCAL COURT FAIRFIELD [1997] NSWCA 153

JOBNAME: No Job Name PAGE: 1 SESS: 1 OUTPUT: Mon Feb 25 18:23:01 2008

/reports/caseml]/case/urj/9708189

HOOPER v THE LOCAL COURT FAIRFIELD

SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES — COURT OF APPEAL

5 BEAZLEY JA and STEIN JA

18 August 1997

[1997] NSWCA 153

Beazley JA and Stein JA. In a summons filed on 8 August 1997 the claimant, Mr Hooper, seeks two orders in the alternative:

1. a declaration that leave to appeal is not required; and 2. the leave of the court to proceed with the appeal as commenced.

The Court has already indicated to Mr Hooper that upon a proper construction of s 101(2)(h) of the Supreme Court Act 1970 that leave of the court is required in order to hear this particular application.

The judgment appealed from is a decision of Grove J in the Common Law Division of 3 February 1997, in which his Honour refused, other than overnight, to grant to the claimant an adjournment of the appeal which the claimant had brought pursuant to s 69(2)(a) of the Local Court (Civil Claims) Act.

Mr Hooper has provided the court with considerable assistance by taking us not only to the judgment of 3 February but also to the transcript of that day and of 4 February. We consider, having regard to those documents, that it is appropriate to consider the order from which Mr Hooper seeks leave to appeal, not only that made on 3 February but also by his Honour's refusal of an adjournment on 4 February other than for a period of half an hour in circumstances where the claimant had sought an additional two hours.

In our opinion his Honour did not err in the refusal of the adjournment other than for those temporary periods to which I have referred. The claimant had been in possession of the transcripts of the various proceedings to which he wished to refer and make subject of his appeal for a period of some months. When I say transcript, I mean the tapes of those proceedings and not the hard copy transcript. It appears that he did not have the opportunity to compare those tapes with the hard copy until the evening of the 3 February. However, he was given that opportunity.