Ellis v Newton

In *Ellis v Newton*, the defendants appealed a judgment of $189,000 entered against them by the trial judge. The sole ground of appeal was that the trial judge had wrongly refused an adjournment, and the appellants sought to set aside the judgment on this basis. A preliminary issue arose concerning the competence of the appeal, with a notice of motion filed to dismiss it on that ground.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the refusal of an adjournment by the trial judge constituted an interlocutory decision that affected the final result, thereby rendering an appeal against that refusal competent. The appellants contended that the erroneous refusal of the adjournment directly led to the adverse final judgment.

The Court of Appeal held that the refusal of an adjournment, in circumstances where it affected the final result of the trial, was not merely an interlocutory decision but was a matter that could be appealed. The Court dismissed the notice of motion to dismiss the appeal for incompetence, with costs. The underlying substantive appeal concerning the refusal of the adjournment would therefore proceed.