Ejueyitsi v Thomas & Anor

[2022] NSWDC 490

District Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

Ejueyitsi v Thomas & Anor [2022] NSWDC 490

Hearing dates:

20 October 2022

Date of orders:

20 October 2022

Decision date:

20 October 2022

Jurisdiction:

Civil

Before:

Abadee DCJ

Decision:

See paragraph 101 - 103

Catchwords:

CIVIL PROCEDURE – appeal from the Small Claims Division of the Local Court – Local Court decision to strike out plaintiff’s claim - application for summary dismissal of appeal proceeding – limited nature of an appeal from decision of the Small Claims Division – whether there was a failure to give reasons

Legislation Cited:

Civil Procedure Act 2005 (NSW) ss 56, 57, 58, 98

Local Court Act 2007 (NSW) ss 29, 35, 39

Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) rr 13.4,14.28, 18.6

Cases Cited:

Arnoldus-Lewis v Murphy [2008] NSWSC 1103

Eliezer v Sydney Water Corporation [2021] NSWCA 300

Eliezer v Sydney Water Corporation [2021] NSWDC 66

Habra v Reinke [2005] NSWSC 1090

Murphy v Arnoldus-Lewis [2009] NSWCA 142

Saqa v Bainivalu [2005] NSWSC 1091

Stojanovski v Parevski [2004] NSWSC 1194

Category:

Principal judgment

Parties:

Ms J Thomas and Mr B Glover (applicants/defendants)
Mr V Ejueyitsi (respondent/plaintiff)

Representation:

Mr E Ball (Counsel) for the applicants/defendants
Mr V Ejueyitsi in person

File Number(s):

2022/00228078

Publication restriction:

Nil

EX TEMPORE REASONS FOR Judgment

Introduction

1. Before the Court is an application by the defendants for summary dismissal of the proceeding.

2. On 8 July 2022 the plaintiff, Mr Ejueyitsi, (who I may also refer to hereafter as the respondent on the application) filed a summons in which he sought to appeal a decision made by the Parramatta Local Court on 10 June 2022 and to have the matter remitted back to the Local Court.

3. The Local Court’s decision was made in a proceeding in which the respondent commenced a suit against the first defendant, Ms Joy Thomas, an employee of the University of Western Sydney (UWS), in which he claimed the sum of $50,000. The original Statement of Claim in the Local Court (there were subsequent iterations) indicated that he had brought actions for breach of contract and negligence. Mr Barney Glover, the Vice Chancellor of UWS, was added as a second defendant.

4. On 4 May 2022, Ms Thomas and Mr Glover applied for the summary dismissal or, alternatively, for the striking out of the Amended Statement of Claim in the Local Court. On 10 June 2022, Magistrate Feather decided to strike it out and also ordered that the plaintiff pay the defendants’ costs as agreed or assessed.

5. The respondent filed this summons without the assistance of a legal practitioner. Throughout this proceeding the respondent has remained unrepresented.

6. The defendants, (the applicants on the application) applied for summary dismissal by their notice of motion dated 12 August 2022.

The Local Court proceedings

The last iteration of the statement of claim before the Local Court

7. This document was apparently filed, or at least prepared, on or about 28 April 2022. In the last iteration of his pleading in the Local Court, the…