Boros v Pages Property Investments Pty Ltd

The appeal concerned a dispute between Boros (the appellant) and Pages Property Investments Pty Ltd (the respondent). The appellant sought to appeal a money judgment and costs orders made against him and another party, Pages Equipment Holdings Pty Ltd. The appeal was heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine several legal issues. These included whether a reference to a judgment against a non-appellant should be struck out of the notice of appeal, whether the other defendant was "directly affected by the relief sought" under rule 51.4 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules, whether the appeal constituted an abuse of process and should be stayed pending satisfaction of the judgments and costs orders, and whether special circumstances existed for ordering security for the respondent's costs of the appeal given the appellant's impecuniosity.

Meagher JA reasoned that the notice of appeal improperly sought to set aside a judgment against a party who was not an appellant and was not represented. The Court applied its inherent power to strike out irrelevant or improper references in the notice of appeal. Furthermore, the Court found that the appeal proceedings would be an abuse of process if not stayed until the appellant satisfied the existing judgments and costs orders, particularly as the quantum of costs was not yet agreed or assessed. The Court also considered the appellant's impecuniosity and determined that an order for security for costs would not stultify the appeal, thus constituting "special circumstances" under rule 51.50.

The Court ordered that the reference to the judgment against Pages Equipment Holdings Pty Ltd be struck out of the notice of appeal. It also directed the appellant to file an application for leave to join Pages Equipment Holdings Pty Ltd as a respondent within 14 days. The proceedings were stayed until the appellant provided security for the respondent's costs of the appeal in the sum of $60,000 within 21 days, either by payment into court or by agreement, and joined Pages Equipment Holdings Pty Ltd as a respondent. Finally, the appellant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs of a specific notice of motion.