Aqualand North Sydney Lavender Development Pty Ltd v The Owners - Strata Plan No. 102081

Aqualand North Sydney Lavender Development Pty Ltd (the appellant) sought leave to appeal an interlocutory decision of the primary judge that granted freezing orders against it in favour of The Owners - Strata Plan No. 102081 (the respondent). The dispute concerned the appellant's alleged dissipation of assets, which the respondent claimed was intended to frustrate any judgment it might obtain in underlying proceedings.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the primary judge erred in finding that it had jurisdiction to grant freezing orders against the appellant. Specifically, the court considered whether transactions conducted in the 'ordinary course of business' could establish the requisite danger of asset dissipation necessary to ground an application for freezing orders under rule 25.14 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2011 (NSW). The court also considered whether the application raised a point of general principle.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the summons seeking leave to appeal. The judges reasoned that the primary judge had not erred in principle in granting the freezing orders. They found that the appellant's argument that ordinary business transactions could not ground the requisite danger was not a valid reason to grant leave to appeal, as it did not raise a point of general principle that warranted appellate intervention. The court concluded that the appeal did not have a reasonably arguable prospect of success.

The summons seeking leave to appeal was dismissed with costs.