AHB v NSW Trustee and Guardian

Court of Appeal

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

AHB v NSW Trustee and Guardian [2014] NSWCA 40

Hearing dates:

5 March 2014

Decision date:

05 March 2014

Before:

Macfarlan JA at [1];
Gleeson JA at [8];
Leeming JA at [9]

Decision:

(1) The Amended Summons is stood over for directions before the Registrar on a date to be appointed by him.

(2) The appellant is ordered to pay the respondent's costs thrown away by the adjournment.

[Note: The Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 provide (Rule 36.11) that unless the Court otherwise orders, a judgment or order is taken to be entered when it is recorded in the Court's computerised court record system. Setting aside and variation of judgments or orders is dealt with by Rules 36.15, 36.16, 36.17 and 36.18. Parties should in particular note the time limit of fourteen days in Rule 36.16.]

Catchwords:

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE - adjournment application - inadequate material in support - no issue of principle

Legislation Cited:

Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act 1997, s 119

Category:

Procedural and other rulings

Parties:

AHB (Appellant)
NSW Trustee and Guardian (Respondent)

Representation:

Counsel:
Appellant (Self-represented and not present)
J Emmett (Respondent)
Solicitors:
Appellant (Self-represented)
Crown Solicitor's Office (Respondent)

File Number(s):

CA 2013/286294

 Decision under appeal 

Citation:

AHB v NSW Trustee and Guardian [2012] NSWADTAP 37

Date of Decision:

2012-08-08 00:00:00

Before:

N Hennessy Deputy President, L Goodchild Judicial Member, B Thomson Non-Judicial Member

File Number(s):

129011

Judgment

1. MACFARLAN JA: Listed before the Court for hearing today is an Amended Summons naming a protected person as appellant and a person to be known as AHB as her tutor. As the respondent has pointed out in written submissions, there are procedural difficulties in the proceedings, not least of them related to the identity of the appellant. The respondent sensibly recognises however that the substance of the proceedings in this Court is an appeal by AHB against the decision dated 8 August 2012 of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Appeal Panel ([2012] NSWADTAP 37) that appeal being limited by the legislation in force at the relevant time (Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act 1997, s 119) to an appeal on a question of law.

1. AHB is the son of the aged protected person. In 2011, the Public Guardian was appointed the protected person's guardian with the functions of access and accommodation, with the respondent being appointed as the protected person's financial manager. In the Administrative Decisions Tribunal AHB challenged the respondent's decision to sell the protected person's home in Gymea Bay.

1. AHB is an unrepresented litigant. Yesterday, he sent by email to the Registrar of the Court a medical certificate and a document indicating that a related matter in the Guardianship Division of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal was adjourned on 28 February 2014 for a period of approximately eight weeks.

1. Based on these documents he sought an adjournment of the hearing fixed for today. In his email he says that he is "quite ill…