Haughton v Australia and New Zealand Banking Corporation

In *Haughton v Australia and New Zealand Banking Corporation*, the applicant sought to bring a second appeal to the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia against an order for possession made by an Auxiliary Master. The dispute arose from a loan agreement and mortgage, where the respondent bank had sought possession of the mortgaged property following the applicant's default. The applicant had previously appealed the Auxiliary Master's order to a single Judge of the Supreme Court, which was dismissed, and a subsequent application for permission to appeal that dismissal to the Full Court was also unsuccessful.

The legal issues before the Full Court were whether the new appeal was competent, given that a prior appeal against the same order had already been dismissed by a single Judge, and whether there were any grounds to permit a second appeal, particularly as the new appeal was filed out of time and raised arguments previously considered. The applicant's grounds of appeal, including a fraud claim regarding the loan application and contentions about the property valuation and the validity of legislation, had been advanced and rejected in the earlier proceedings.

The Full Court reasoned that the new appeal was incompetent because it sought to institute a second appeal against the Auxiliary Master's decision, which is generally not permitted without leave, especially after a first appeal has been dismissed. The Court found no fresh evidence or other justification to permit a second appeal. The applicant's attempt to reagitate the fraud claim and other arguments was considered an attempt to relitigate issues that had already been finally determined. The Court applied the principle that appeals are generally limited to one instance, and a party cannot pursue successive appeals against the same decision without proper authorisation.

Consequently, the Full Court ordered that the notice of appeal be struck out as incompetent and without merit, and refused an extension of time to file the notice of appeal.