Douglas v Mikhael

The appeal in *Douglas v Mikhael* concerned a dispute over an alleged oral contract. The appellant, Mr. Douglas, sought to overturn a decision of the primary judge who had found that no such contract existed. The appeal was heard by Ward P, Mitchelmore JA, and Basten AJA.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge erred in finding that the evidence of a conversation in 1999, which was alleged to have formed the oral contract, was not plausible. Further, the court considered whether the primary judge had erred in rejecting the affidavit evidence of Mr. Douglas's witness, particularly given that certain paragraphs in the affidavits of two witnesses were identical. Finally, the court examined whether the primary judge's conduct during the examination of Mr. Douglas's witness amounted to a denial of procedural fairness or gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias.

The Court of Appeal found no error in the primary judge's assessment of the evidence. The court held that the primary judge was entitled to consider the surrounding circumstances when determining the existence of the alleged oral contract and that the identical paragraphs in the affidavits were a legitimate reason to doubt the reliability of that evidence. Furthermore, the court concluded that the primary judge's interjections did not amount to a denial of procedural fairness or create a reasonable apprehension of bias.

Consequently, the appeal was dismissed with costs.