Jeevaratnam v Combis

The applicants, Mr. and Mrs. Jeevaratnam, sought to bring proceedings in the County Court of Victoria, alleging that the respondents, Mr. and Mrs. Combis, had engaged in fraudulent conduct. The respondents applied for summary dismissal of these claims, arguing that the applicants had no reasonable prospect of success.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the applicants' claims were so lacking in merit that they should be summarily dismissed. This required the court to assess the applicants' standing to bring the proceedings and the substantive legal basis of their allegations of fraud.

Judge Burchardt found that the applicants' claims were difficult to understand and appeared to be based on a misunderstanding of relevant legal principles. The court concluded that the applicants faced "insuperable difficulties" in pursuing their case and that there was no reasonable prospect of them succeeding. Consequently, the application for summary dismissal was dismissed.