Borg & Ors v Northern Rivers Finance P/L

[2003] QCA 583

COURT OF APPEAL

McMURDO P

Appeal No 5036 of 2003

ANDREW JAMES BORG & ORS

v

NORTHERN RIVERS FINANCE PTY LTD & ORS

ANDREW JAMES BORG             First Respondent/First Plaintiff

JASON MARK BRYNE            Second Respondent/Second Plaintiff

ROBERT STUART CHRISTENSEN   Not party to appeal/Third Plaintiff

GLEN ANGELLO COPPO           Third Respondent/Fourth Plaintiff

LAURENCE ROY DIXON         Not party to appeal/Fifth Plaintiff

IAN ANTHONY GLAZEBROOK     Not party to appeal/Sixth Plaintiff

MICHAEL CHARLES GOTTKE             Fourth Respondent/Plaintiff

BRIAN KENNETH HINCHEY            Not party to appeal/Plaintiff

ROBERT MICHAEL McCLOY            Not party to appeal/Plaintiff

NANCY MARY MONTGOMERY              Fifth Respondent/Plaintiff

HENRY ALEXANDER MONTGOMERTY      Not party to appeal/Plaintiff 

GORDON EDWARD PARISH               Sixth Respondent/Plaintiff

GORDON JOHN REID  Respondent/Plaintiff

JAMES MICHAEL ROACH  Respondent/Plaintiff

GLEN ALAN SCOTT                 Not party to appeal/Plaintiff

GASPAR SICH  Respondent/Plaintiff

NEIL GREGORY CAMERON  Respondent/Plaintiff

COLIN SCOTT PURDIE              Not party to appeal/Plaintiff

GEOFFREY DAVID RAPSON  Respondent/Plaintiff

DREW KINGSLEY WOODMAN            Not party to appeal/Plaintiff

NIKO JOZINOVIC  Respondent/Plaintiff

NORTHERN RIVERS FINANCE PTY LTD   Not party to appeal/Defendant

INVESTMENT LICENCING      Not party to appeal/Second Defendant
PTY LTD

NORTHERN RIVERS PLANTATION  Not party to appeal/Third Defendant
MANAGEMENT LTD

D PAWSKI & R M NUMIS T/A      First Appellant/Fourth Defendant
SECURINVEST ACCOUNT SER

DREW GRAHAM FRANCIS        Not party to appeal/Fifth Defendant

BASE METALS EXPLORATION NL  Not party to appeal/Sixth Defendant

EXPLORERS AND PROSPECTORS        Not party to appeal/Defendant
FINANCE LIMITED

DARREN CHARLES HORNER              Second Appellant/Defendant

JOHN MEARES  Not party to appeal/Defendant

BANALASTA OIL PLANTATION LTD     Not party to appeal/Defendant

SAFEINVEST PTY LTD              Not party to appeal/Defendant

KAREN EVANS  Not party to appeal/Defendant

PLANTATION EQUITY PTY LTD        Not party to appeal/Defendant

BRISBANE

..DATE 19/12/2003

ORDER

THE PRESIDENT:  This appeal was filed on the 6th of June 2003 against what purported to have been an order of Justice Mackenzie of the 9th of May 2003.  In fact, what was published on that day was reasons concerning liability and they were the reasons for a proposed order which has not yet been published.

At first the matter was placed on abeyance but the Registry then became aware that the appeal purported to be from something which was not, in fact, an order of the Court.  The matter was then raised with the parties.  The solicitors for the appellants, Porski and Noonas, were given leave to withdraw on the 28th of November 2003 and from that time that they provided an address for service for the Registry to which notice of this mention was sent detailing exactly what it was about.  The second appellant was also sent notice at his address for service supplied to the Registry.  They have not appeared today although Mr Crawford, on behalf of QBE Management Services, the insurers of the first appellants, did appear.

The position is that the appeal appears to be incompetent because it is an appeal from an order that has not yet been made.  Mr O'Connell, who appears for the respondent, confirms this.  In any case, the appeal has not been progressed as it should and the dilatoriness of the appellants in keeping contact with the Registry and not appearing themselves today, confirms to me that the appropriate order to make is that this appeal should be struck out for want of prosecution and that the appellants should pay the respondent's costs to be assessed.  Those are the orders I make.

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