Batterham v Nauer

The applicant sought leave to appeal against an order made by a primary judge that prohibited him from instituting proceedings against the respondent. The proceedings in question were commenced by companies controlled by the applicant.

The court was required to determine whether the primary judge had erred in finding that the applicant was a vexatious litigant within the meaning of section 8(7) of the *Vexatious Proceedings Act 2008* (NSW). This involved considering whether the proceedings raised essentially the same issues as had been resolved in earlier litigation and whether the proceedings were commenced to harass, annoy, or for another wrongful reason.

The court found that the correspondence from the applicant demonstrated that the proceedings were initiated for the purpose of harassment or annoyance, or for some other improper reason. The court concluded that the primary judge had correctly applied the requirements of the *Vexatious Proceedings Act* and that there was no error in the decision to prohibit the institution of further proceedings.

Leave to appeal was refused, and the applicant was ordered to pay the respondent’s costs of the proceedings.