El-Hanania v Vella (No 2)

The proceedings involved an application by El-Hanania (the applicant) seeking to extend the time to appeal against a prior decision. Vella (the respondent) opposed this application. The matter came before Brereton JA in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the applicant had satisfied the conditions attached to a previous order that had granted an extension of time to appeal, subject to those conditions being met. The applicant was required to show cause why the proceedings should not be dismissed due to non-compliance with these conditions.

Brereton JA reasoned that the applicant had failed to demonstrate compliance with the conditions precedent to the grant of the extension of time. Consequently, the court found that the applicant had not shown sufficient cause to justify proceeding with the appeal. The court applied the principles governing conditional orders and the requirement for parties to adhere to court directions.

The court ordered that the proceedings be dismissed and that the applicant pay the respondent's costs. The respondent was directed to serve a sealed copy of the orders on the applicant within 72 hours and file an affidavit of service. Leave was reserved to the applicant to set aside this order within seven days of service, with the dismissal and costs orders not taking effect until 30 August 2019 or the determination of any application made under that leave.