Bechara v Bates (No 3) [2015] NSWSC 1588

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Bechara v Bates (No 3) [2015] NSWSC 1588 Hearing dates: 6 October 2015 Decision date: 29 October 2015 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Adamson J Decision: (1) Summons dismissed.

(2) Unless an application for a different order is made in writing to my Associate within seven days, order the plaintiff to pay the defendant's costs of the proceedings.

(3) The stay granted by Bellew J on 17 April 2015 and continued by McCallum J on 23 April 2015 is hereby dissolved. Catchwords: APPEAL – appeal from Local Court – whether Magistrate erred in granting leave to apply for default judgment as a consequence of failure to comply with notice to produce – ample opportunity provided to remedy defaults – no error in Magistrate's decision identified

APPEAL – jurisdiction – notice of motion dismissed after hearing of the merits - whether Magistrate erred in refusing to set aside dismissal of notice of motion – application to set aside previous orders was in the nature of an appeal – no error shown in Magistrate's refusal of application due to lack of jurisdiction

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – party's entitlement to final hearing on merits not indefeasible – weight to be given to administration of justice and compliance with court orders – importance of sanctions against non-compliance Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW), Pt 6, ss 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61 Legal Profession Act 2004 (NSW), ss 302, 310, 311, 312, 315, 316, 317 Local Court Act 2007 (NSW), ss 38, 40, 41 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2004 (NSW), rr 10.14, 12.7, 16.2, 16.3, 21.10, 36.16 Cases Cited: Aon Risk Services Australia Ltd and Australian National University [2009] HCA 27; 239 CLR 175 Autodesk Inc v Dyason (No. 2) 176 CLR 300 Bechara v Bates [2014] NSWSC 1935 Hans Pet Constructions Pty Ltd v Cassar [2009] NSWCA 200 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Maria Bechara trading as Bechara and Company (Plaintiff) Philip Bates (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Plaintiff in person P Bates (Defendant in person)