Foundas v Arambatzis (No. 4)

The appellant, Ms. Foundas, sought to set aside or vary orders made on 24 March 2020, which required her to deliver vacant possession of property. These orders were made in consequence of an order under section 66G of the *Conveyancing Act 1919* (NSW) prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The respondents were Mr. Arambatzis and others. The appeal was heard by Bell P, Basten, and White JJA in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether executive or legislative instruments enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic warranted the setting aside or variation of the existing orders for vacant possession. The appellant contended that the pandemic and the subsequent governmental responses created circumstances that justified a departure from the original orders.

The Court of Appeal considered the relevant legislative and executive instruments and concluded that they did not provide a basis for setting aside or varying the orders for vacant possession. The Court reasoned that the existing orders were made prior to the pandemic and that the subsequent measures did not retrospectively alter the rights or obligations established by those orders. Consequently, the Court refused the appellant's application to set aside or vary the orders of 24 March 2020.

The Court ordered that the appellant's application to set aside or vary orders 6 and 7 made on 24 March 2020 be refused. It was noted that these orders were not stayed. Furthermore, order 7 was varied by deleting the provision that a writ for possession not be executed before the expiry of 28 days. The appellant was ordered to pay the respondents' costs of her application.