ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA -v- MTI [2014] WASC 303

Jurisdiction:	SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA	Citation No:	[2014] WASC 303
Published:	25/08/2014
Case No:	CIV:2517/2013	Heard:	7 AUGUST 2014
Coram:	MASTER SANDERSON	Delivered:	7/08/14
No of pages:	12	Judgment Part:	1 of 1
Result:	Defendant declared vexatious litigant
Category:	B
PDF Version

Parties:	ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA MTI
Catchwords:	Vexatious litigant Repeated appeals in hopeless cases Turns on own facts
Legislation:	Nil
Case References:	Attorney General v Hunter [2002] WASC 189 Attorney General v Michael [2005] WASC 203 Attorney General v Shaw [2004] WASC 280 Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Bride [2004] WASC 177 Granich Partners v Yap [2003] WASC 206 Principal Registrar of the Supreme Court v Chin [2012] WASC 7

JURISDICTION : SUPREME COURT OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA

IN CHAMBERS

CITATION : ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA -v- MTI [2014] WASC 303 CORAM : MASTER SANDERSON HEARD : 7 AUGUST 2014 DELIVERED : 7 AUGUST 2014 PUBLISHED : 25 AUGUST 2014 FILE NO/S : CIV 2517 of 2013 BETWEEN : ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Plaintiff

AND

MTI

Defendant

Catchwords:

Vexatious litigant - Repeated appeals in hopeless cases - Turns on own facts

Legislation:

Nil

Result:

Defendant declared vexatious litigant

Category: B

Representation:

Counsel:

Plaintiff : Mr A J Sefton

Defendant : In person

Solicitors:

Plaintiff : State Solicitor for Western Australia

Defendant : In person

Case(s) referred to in judgment(s):

Attorney General v Hunter [2002] WASC 189
Attorney General v Michael [2005] WASC 203
Attorney General v Shaw [2004] WASC 280
Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Bride [2004] WASC 177
Granich Partners v Yap [2003] WASC 206
Principal Registrar of the Supreme Court v Chin [2012] WASC 7

1 MASTER SANDERSON: By originating motion dated 4 October 2013 the plaintiff applied for orders under s 4 of Vexatious Proceedings Restriction Act 2002 (WA) (the Act). The motion came on in chambers before McKechnie J on 24 October 2013. His Honour made orders allowing the defendant to file any affidavits in opposition to the application within 21 days from the date of the order. His Honour made certain other programming orders and then referred the matter to me.

2 The motion first came on in master's chambers on 17 April 2014. The defendant was self-represented. I made certain programming orders, relevantly, an order requiring the defendant to file any answering affidavit by 20 June 2014. The matter was then listed for hearing on 7 August 2014.

3 On 6 August 2014 the defendant lodged an application which sought to have the motion dismissed 'as it is built on erroneous ground [sic]'. Further orders were sought to have the applicant and certain judicial officers stand trial perjury and/or corruption. The defendant also sought to have all matters heard by an interstate judicial officer. When the matter was called on for hearing, I dealt first with this application. It was supported by an affidavit of the defendant sworn 5 August 2014. It is unnecessary to detail the contents…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2014] WASC 303
Decision Date: 25 AUGUST 2014

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the recent case of Attorney General for Western Australia v MTI, the Court had to determine whether the defendant, MTI, was a vexatious litigant. The matter arose from a series of appeals by MTI against decisions of the Supreme Court of Western Australia, all of which were unsuccessful and deemed hopeless by the Court of Appeal. The Court was tasked with assessing whether MTI's persistent litigation amounted to an abuse of the judicial process. The primary legal issue was whether the repeated appeals by MTI, which were without merit and intended to cause annoyance or delay, justified the declaration of MTI as a vexatious litigant under the relevant statutory provisions.

The Court carefully considered the nature and extent of MTI's litigation history, noting the repetitive and persistent appeals against decisions that were clearly without any reasonable prospect of success. The Court found that MTI's actions were not only without merit but also intended to cause unnecessary delay and expense. The Court highlighted that the statutory criteria for declaring a person a vexatious litigant were met, as MTI had a history of instituting or prosecuting appeals that were frivolous or vexatious. The Court concluded that the declaration was necessary to protect the judicial process from abuse and to prevent further unnecessary litigation by MTI.

Consequently, the Court declared MTI to be a vexatious litigant, thereby prohibiting MTI from instituting any further appeals in the Supreme Court of Western Australia without the leave of the Court. This decision underscores the Court's commitment to ensuring that the judicial process is not abused and that resources are not wasted on meritless litigation. The declaration serves as a deterrent to MTI and others who might be tempted to engage in similar conduct in the future.

Orders

Orders of the court

Defendant declared vexatious litigant

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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