Choi v NSW Ombudsman

In the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Ms Choi sought orders against the NSW Ombudsman. The dispute concerned an application for the recusal of a judge, based on allegations of apprehended bias arising from an association and the outcome of internal court administrative procedures, following a complaint made to the Judicial Commission.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether there was a reasonable cause of action disclosed in the proceedings and whether the proceedings constituted an abuse of process, warranting summary dismissal. The Court was also required to consider the application for recusal based on apprehended bias.

Griffiths AJA dismissed the applicant's amended summons under rule 13.4 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005, finding that no reasonable cause of action was disclosed and that the proceedings were an abuse of process. The Court also dismissed the applicant's notice of motion. The Court ordered that Ms Choi appear by audio-visual link from South Korea pursuant to section 5B of the Evidence (Audio and Audio Visual Links) Act 1998 (NSW) and ordered the applicant to pay the first respondent's costs.