Ellis v Silver Vision Pty Ltd (No 2)

In *Ellis v Silver Vision Pty Ltd (No 2)*, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia considered an application alleging disability discrimination concerning access to a restaurant and the use of its goods and services. The applicant, Mr. Ellis, had previously been ordered by the Court to comply with certain directions, including providing evidence on oath. The respondent, Silver Vision Pty Ltd, sought the dismissal of the application due to Mr. Ellis's non-compliance with these orders.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether the applicant had failed to comply with the Court's previous orders, and if so, whether the application should be dismissed as a consequence. The Court was also required to determine whether the applicant's conduct warranted an award of indemnity costs in favour of the respondent, particularly in light of alleged abuse directed at the judge and the respondent's legal representative. A further procedural issue arose concerning a minor amendment to a previous order.

Judge Antoni Lucev found that the applicant had indeed failed to comply with the Court's orders of 22 November 2016, which required him to provide evidence on oath, especially given that relief from non-compliance was sought on medical grounds. The Court reasoned that the applicant's persistent non-compliance, coupled with his abusive conduct towards the Court and the respondent's lawyer, demonstrated a disregard for the judicial process and justified the dismissal of the application. The Court also determined that the applicant's conduct warranted an award of indemnity costs.

Consequently, the Court ordered that the application be dismissed pursuant to rule 13.03B(1)(a) of the Federal Circuit Court Rules 2001 (Cth) due to the applicant's non-compliance with previous orders. The applicant was also ordered to pay the respondent's costs on an indemnity basis, to be assessed by a Registrar. The Court also made a minor amendment to a previous order by deleting the word "first" before "respondent" in order 1 of the orders made on 24 January 2017.