Finemores (No. 3) Pty Ltd v Evans No. Scgrg-98-399 Judgment No. S6820

Finemores (No. 3) Pty Ltd v Evans was a case where the plaintiff sought an extension of time to bring a claim for damages for personal injuries under the Limitations Of Actions Act. The Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia considered whether the appeal from the District Court's decision was competent and whether leave should be granted to appeal. The plaintiff argued that she had not been aware of her post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis until she read the draft Statement of Claim, which satisfied the threshold requirement for an extension of time. The District Court Judge granted the extension of time and ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff's costs of and incidental to the application. The defendant appealed, arguing that the plaintiff's diagnosis was not a material fact and the District Court Judge erred in granting the extension of time.

The Full Court held that the appeal was incompetent as it did not comply with the appropriate procedures. An appeal from an interlocutory judgment requires leave, which the appellant failed to obtain. Even if leave was granted, the appeal would not raise any point of law of difficulty or importance or any matter of sufficient importance to warrant leave being granted. The Court found that the plaintiff's diagnosis was a material fact and the District Court Judge did not err in granting the extension of time. The Court ordered that leave to appeal be refused and the Notice of Appeal be dismissed as incompetent.