Henderson v Corporation of the City of Adelaide (No 2)

The case of Henderson v Corporation of the City of Adelaide (No 2) involved an application for summary judgment by the respondent, the Corporation of the City of Adelaide, against the applicant, who alleged that the respondent's conduct constituted a contravention of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth). The applicant sought relief to prevent further conduct by the respondent, claiming that it would significantly impact a listed ecological community. The legal issues before the court included whether the applicant had a reasonable prospect of successfully prosecuting the proceeding and whether the pleadings were inadequate or liable to be struck out.

The court found that the applicant had no reasonable prospect of successfully prosecuting the proceeding. The court accepted the expert evidence provided by the respondent, which contradicted the applicant's claims. The court noted that there was no evidence provided by the applicant to contradict the expert evidence. The court also found that the pleadings were inadequate as they merely repeated a statutory prohibition without providing a link between the alleged contravention of the Act and the relief sought. The court considered the application for summary judgment under s 31A(2) of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1975 (Cth) and determined that the applicant had no reasonable prospect of success.

The court granted summary judgment in favour of the respondent and ordered the parties to be heard as to further or other orders. The court emphasised that the power to dismiss an action summarily is not to be exercised lightly and that the application of s 31A should be read in light of the evident legislative purpose revealed by the text of the provision. The court also noted the caution which should be exercised before applying s 31A in cases involving complex questions of fact.