Carlene Randall v City of Canada Bay Council (No 3)

The matter of Carlene Randall v City of Canada Bay Council (No 3) was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Carlene Randall sought an order to compel the City of Canada Bay Council to reopen a hearing to allow her to rely on further submissions that summarised existing submissions and evidence. The dispute centred around the council's refusal to reopen a hearing concerning a local planning application.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the application to reopen the hearing was an attempt to re-litigate old issues or if there was a legitimate reason to permit the reopening. The court had to determine whether the new submissions constituted new evidence or merely a reiteration of previous arguments.

The court found that the new submissions did not introduce any new evidence or arguments but were a summary of existing submissions and evidence. The court held that there was no issue of principle that would warrant reopening the hearing. The judge concluded that the application was not a legitimate attempt to introduce new evidence but rather an attempt to re-litigate old issues. Consequently, the application to reopen the hearing was dismissed.