Buckworth v Gladio Pty Ltd

Buckworth (the applicant) sought a stay of execution of a primary judgment pending the determination of proceedings in the High Court. Gladio Pty Ltd (the first respondent) was the party against whom the primary judgment had been entered. The application for a stay was heard by Meagher JA.

The central legal issue before Meagher JA was whether the applicant had a substantial prospect of success in an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court. This required the court to assess the nature of the proposed appeal and its likelihood of being granted special leave.

Meagher JA reasoned that a stay of execution would only be granted if there was a substantial prospect of success in the special leave application. In this instance, the question to be raised in the High Court appeal was found to be one of fact, without general application, and did not raise any question of principle. Consequently, the prospects of obtaining special leave were not considered substantial.

Accordingly, the appellant/applicant’s notice of motion filed on 6 May 2016 was dismissed, and the applicant was ordered to pay the first respondent’s costs of the motion.