Higgins v Brennan

Higgins (Claimant) sought leave to appeal from a decision of the Equity Division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, presided over by Giles JA and Santow J. The dispute concerned an application for interlocutory relief which the claimant alleged was not properly heard.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the claimant had been denied procedural fairness in the Equity Division. Specifically, the court considered whether the judge had failed to hear the claimant's submissions on her application for interlocutory relief, and whether remarks made by the judge about "taking technical points" indicated an improper approach that prejudiced the claimant's case.

The Court of Appeal found that there was a strong arguable case that the claimant had not been afforded procedural fairness. The court reasoned that the failure to hear submissions, coupled with the judge's remarks, suggested that the application may not have been determined on its merits. Consequently, leave to appeal was granted.

By consent, the interlocutory orders made in the Equity Division were set aside. The proceedings were remitted to the Equity Division for the claimant to renew her application for interlocutory relief. Costs of the application for leave to appeal were to be determined by the judge hearing the renewed application.