Land and Environment Court of New South Wales CITATION : Buyozo Pty Limited v Mosman Municipal Council [2008] NSWLEC 105 APPLICANT: Buyozo Pty Limited PARTIES : RESPONDENT: Mosman Municipal Council FILE NUMBER(S) : 10548 of 2006 CORAM: Biscoe J KEY ISSUES: Practice and Procedure :- application to vacate hearing date because counsel jammed. DATES OF HEARING: 29 February 2008 EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE : 29 February 2008 APPLICANT: Mr C R Reid, solicitor SOLICITORS Reid & Vesely LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: RESPONDENT: Ms J Walsh, solicitor SOLICITORS Pike Pike and Fenwick JUDGMENT: THE LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES BISCOE J 29 February 2008 10548 of 2006 BUYOZO PTY LIMITED v MOSMAN MUNICIPAL COUNCIL EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT 1 HIS HONOUR: This is a motion by the respondent council to vacate the hearing date next Monday, 3 March. The ground is that counsel briefed by the council is jammed in another case which has overrun. 2 The position of the applicant in the proceedings, Buyozo Pty Limited, is that normally it would endeavour to be amenable to such a motion but that in this case it opposes the motion because of the long history of delay in the matter; its perception (about which I pass no judgment) that the council has endeavoured in the past to thwart progress of the matter; and that every day that the subject development consent is deferred is causing it damage. 3 The hearing is of an application under s 96 of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 to amend a deferred commencement condition imposed in June 2007 by this Court, by reducing the number of required parking spaces from six to four. The issue is narrow and the parties' hearing time estimates are between one hour and half a day. Prima facie, on such a limited issue, the council should be able, even at short notice, to brief other experienced and competent counsel without detriment. There is no evidence nor any submission that other experienced and competent counsel are not available or able at short notice to handle this limited issue. When counsel is jammed, as sometimes occurs where cases overrun, members of the planning law bar generally should be able to step into the breach on short notice in matters such as this, as happens in other jurisdictions. 4 In all the circumstances, I am not satisfied that I should accede to this motion. Accordingly, the motion is dismissed. DISCLAIMER - Every effort has been made to comply with suppression orders or statutory provisions prohibiting publication that may apply to this judgment or decision. The onus remains on any person using material in the judgment or decision to ensure that the intended use of that material does not breach any such order or provision. Further enquiries may be directed to the Registry of the Court or Tribunal in which it was generated.