Ezekiel-Hart v The Law Society of the ACT & Anor

The applicant, Mr Ezekiel-Hart, brought proceedings against The Law Society of the ACT and another party. The dispute concerned claims made by Mr Ezekiel-Hart, which the respondents sought to have summarily dismissed. The matter was heard in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether Mr Ezekiel-Hart's proceedings had no reasonable prospect of success, thereby justifying their summary dismissal pursuant to s 17A of the *Federal Circuit Court of Australia Act 1999* (Cth). This involved considering whether, even if all alleged facts were proven, Mr Ezekiel-Hart could succeed as a matter of law, and whether the factual basis for his claims was fanciful and without substance, particularly in light of the absence of supporting evidence from the applicant and the presence of contradictory evidence from the respondents, coupled with a history of adverse rulings on similar issues.

Judge Neville applied the principles articulated in *Three Rivers District Council v Governor and Company of the Bank of England (No.3)* and *Spencer v Commonwealth*, which permit summary dismissal where a trial of the facts would be a waste of time and money because a party cannot succeed as a matter of law, or where the factual basis for a claim is entirely without substance. The Court found that Mr Ezekiel-Hart's claims met these criteria. The judge noted that there was no evidence provided by the applicant, while the respondents had provided abundant evidence disproving the applicant's contentions. Furthermore, the significant litigious history of adverse rulings against Mr Ezekiel-Hart on essentially identical issues reinforced the conclusion that the claims were fanciful and without substance, and therefore not fit for trial.

The Court ordered that the proceedings be summarily dismissed in their entirety.