Caird Seven Pty Ltd v Attia (No 4)

Caird Seven Pty Ltd sought leave to file a cross-claim outside the time prescribed by the court rules. The dispute between Caird Seven and Attia centred on a contract for the sale of property and the payment of a deposit. The application was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Caird Seven applied for leave to file a cross-claim against Attia, which was outside the time prescribed by the court rules. The application also sought that the funds paid into court be retained rather than being paid out to Attia. If leave were granted, Caird Seven requested that the completion of the court orders be affected or deferred pending determination of the cross-claim. Caird Seven also sought relief despite being in default of the court orders.

The court considered whether the cross-claim had any reasonable prospects of success and whether relief should be granted to Caird Seven despite their default. The court found that the cross-claim had reasonable prospects of success, but that relief should not be granted to Caird Seven due to their default of the court orders. The court held that the application for leave to file the cross--claim out of time was not successful. The court further held that the funds paid into court should be paid out to Attia and that the completion of the court orders should not be affected or deferred pending determination of the cross-claim.