Central Coast Animal Care Facility Incorporated v Wyatt

Central Coast Animal Care Facility Incorporated commenced proceedings against Wyatt, seeking various reliefs related to a dispute concerning an animal care facility. The case was resolved through consent orders, which were made in the Central Administration Tribunal. Over ten months later, Wyatt applied to set aside the consent orders, citing delays in the application being listed for hearing. The application was eventually listed for hearing twenty-two months after the consent orders were made. On the afternoon prior to the hearing, Wyatt emailed the chambers of the judge, requesting an adjournment on the basis of physical and various mental health grounds, including COVID-19, anxiety, and stress. The respondent opposed the adjournment, and the listing was maintained, with an audio-visual link provided to Wyatt. Wyatt provided additional materials via email in the late afternoon, which were not copied to the respondent. Wyatt failed to appear for the hearing and did not contact the court. The respondent requested the dismissal of the application for an adjournment and the application to set aside the consent orders. The tribunal dismissed both applications.
The tribunal considered the principles of email communications with a judge's chambers, noting that a party could not expect a judge to consider materials emailed to a judge's chambers on a contested application, especially where the responding party was not included in the communication. The tribunal also considered the principles of adjournments in civil procedure, including the quality of evidence required to justify an adjournment. The tribunal found that the evidence provided by Wyatt was insufficient to justify an adjournment. Finally, the tribunal considered the appropriate order for costs where an applicant failed to appear on the determination of applications. The tribunal found that the appropriate order was for the applicant to pay the respondent's costs of the application.