Bakarich v Commonwealth Bank of Australia

The parties to this matter were the appellants, Mr. Bakarich and others, and the respondent, Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The dispute concerned an application to reopen an appeal, with the appellants alleging improper conduct in the conduct of the litigation. The matter was heard by Hodgson and Campbell JJA, and Lindgren AJA.

The court was required to determine whether the matters raised by the appellants justified reopening the appeal. This involved considering whether there was any newly provided evidence that was not reasonably available at the trial or appeal and which could materially affect the decision, and whether the alleged improper conduct warranted setting aside the finality of the litigation. The court also implicitly considered the principles governing disqualification of judges for bias, the adequacy of disclosure, and the waiver of objections.

The court reasoned that the general complaints raised by the appellants had already been litigated at trial and on appeal. Crucially, no new evidence had been presented that was not reasonably available at the earlier stages and which could materially alter the outcome. The court acknowledged that Mr. Bakarich sincerely believed he had been wronged but concluded that the case presented fell significantly short of the threshold required to override the public interest in the finality of litigation or to justify reopening the appeal hearing.

Consequently, the court ordered that the application to reopen the appeal be dismissed with costs.