Fung v Forbes

FUNG
v
FORBES
[2022] HCASL 46
B64/2021

The applicant seeks special leave to appeal from a decision of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) Appellate Jurisdiction. An extension of time is necessary to enable the application to proceed. There is no reason to doubt the correctness of the decision of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) Appellate Jurisdiction. The application for special leave should be dismissed. That being so, it would be futile to grant the extension of time required.
Pursuant to r 41.08.1 of the High Court Rules 2004 (Cth), we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal and order dismissing the application.

S.J Gageler J.S Gleeson

16 March 2022

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of Fung v Forbes, the applicant sought special leave to appeal from a decision of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1) Appellate Jurisdiction. The application for special leave required an extension of time to proceed, which was part of the proceedings before the High Court. The primary focus of the case was on the legal necessity and correctness of granting the extension and subsequently allowing the special leave application.

The legal issues that the court was required to address involved the correctness of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia's decision and the procedural aspects of granting an extension of time for the special leave application. The court had to consider whether there was any basis to doubt the correctness of the lower court's decision and, if not, whether it was appropriate to grant the extension of time, which would ultimately be futile.

The court found no reason to doubt the correctness of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia's decision. Consequently, the application for special leave was deemed unnecessary. Given this finding, the court concluded that it would be futile to grant the extension of time required for the application to proceed. As a result, the application for special leave was dismissed, and the High Court directed the Registrar to draft, sign, and seal an order dismissing the application.

No further orders were made by the court, as the primary objective of dismissing the application for special leave had been achieved. The decision underscored the importance of procedural correctness and the need to avoid futile exercises in judicial process.

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