Clark v Robards

In *Clark v Robards*, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an application for leave to appeal against a decision of Hidden J. The dispute concerned a pleading that had been summarily struck out for want of due despatch, despite other older proceedings being allowed to continue and without objection from two of the three defendants.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether Hidden J erred in striking out the relevant paragraphs of the proposed amended statement of claim. This involved considering whether the delay in pursuing these causes of action, which were based on a 2005 pleading and had been previously considered by Harrison J in 2010, justified their summary dismissal, particularly in light of the court's approach to other, similarly aged proceedings.

The Court of Appeal, comprising Beazley P and Basten JA, granted leave to appeal in relation to the causes of action contained in the 2005 pleading, excluding the conspiracy charge. The court otherwise dismissed the summons seeking leave to appeal. The costs of the application were to be costs in the appeal.