Constantinidis v Tsolakis (No 2)

The matter before the Court was an application by the defendant for an order that the plaintiff's amended statement of claim be struck out, or alternatively that the plaintiff be ordered to pay the defendant's costs. The plaintiff had failed to comply with previous orders to file an amended statement of claim, and had instead filed an additional amended statement which included matters that were statute-barred and had previously been disallowed. The Court was required to decide whether the plaintiff's amended statement of claim should be struck out, and if so, whether the plaintiff should be ordered to pay the defendant's costs.

The Court found that the plaintiff had repeatedly failed to comply with orders to file an amended statement of claim, and had instead continued to file additional amended statements that included matters that were statute-barred and had previously been disallowed. The Court held that the plaintiff's conduct amounted to an abuse of process, and that the defendant was entitled to an order striking out the plaintiff's additional amended statement of claim. The Court also found that the plaintiff's conduct warranted an order that the plaintiff pay the defendant's costs.

The Court ordered that the plaintiff's additional amended statement of claim be struck out, and that the plaintiff pay the defendant's costs of and incidental to the application. The Court noted that the defendant's application was not an application for summary judgment, and that the plaintiff was still entitled to file a further amended statement of claim that complied with the Court's previous orders.