Clark and Aravanis in their capacity as joint and several trustees of the property of Kimber v Owners Corporation SP48216

The case before the court was an application for recusal filed by the applicants against the respondent, who was the owners corporation for a strata titled property. The applicants sought the recusal of the Deputy President on the basis of bias, arguing that his previous involvement in another case involving the same property and the applicants, and his comments in that case, demonstrated a potential for bias in the current proceedings. The matter was heard in the Civil and Administrative Tribunal (CAT), a tribunal with jurisdiction to hear appeals and applications related to administrative law and strata title matters.

The central legal issue the court had to address was whether the Deputy President's prior involvement in another case involving the same property and the applicants created a reasonable apprehension of bias, warranting his recusal from the current proceedings. The court needed to consider the principles of judicial impartiality and whether the Deputy President's previous comments and actions could reasonably lead to the conclusion that he might not approach the case with an open mind.

The court examined the relevant legal principles and authorities regarding judicial bias and recusal, focusing on the need to maintain public confidence in the administration of justice. It considered the Deputy President's comments in the previous case and assessed whether they were such that a reasonable observer might apprehend bias. The court found that the comments were not of a nature that would lead a reasonable observer to apprehend bias in the Deputy President's conduct of the current proceedings. The court concluded that there was no basis to recuse the Deputy President, and therefore dismissed the application for recusal. The dismissal was made without costs to either party.