Hills v Gooden

The appeal in *Hills v Gooden* concerned the competence of an appeal filed under rule 51.41 of the *Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005* (NSW). The central dispute revolved around whether the appeal involved a matter at issue amounting to $100,000 or more, as stipulated by section 101(2)(r) of the *Supreme Court Act 1970* (NSW), which would ordinarily require leave to appeal.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the appeal was competent, specifically whether it met the threshold for requiring leave to appeal under the *Supreme Court Act*. This required the court to determine if the matter at issue could be valued at $100,000 or more, or if the appeal did not disclose a claim for damages or a breach that was capable of being valued in monetary terms.

Adamson JA found that the appeal did not disclose a claim for damages or a breach that was capable of being valued. Consequently, the appeal did not involve a matter at issue amounting to $100,000 or more, meaning leave to appeal was required but had not been sought or granted. The court therefore ordered the dismissal of the appeal as incompetent. The appellants were also ordered to pay the respondent's costs of the appeal and the costs of the notice of motion dated 26 March 2024.