Johnson v Mackinnon (No 2)

The parties to this proceeding were Johnson (the applicant) and Mackinnon (the respondent). The applicant sought to set aside a previous decision of the Court of Appeal, purportedly pursuant to rule 36.16 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules or the court's inherent jurisdiction. The dispute concerned the applicant's attempt to revisit a prior appellate determination that had been unsuccessful for them.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether there were grounds to set aside its previous judgment. Specifically, the court had to determine if any relevant matter had been overlooked, or if there had been any misconception, misapprehension, oversight, or inadvertence in its prior decision-making process that would justify intervention.

The Court of Appeal found no basis to set aside its earlier judgment. It concluded that no identified matter had been overlooked and that there was no evidence of misconception, misapprehension, oversight, or inadvertence on its part. Consequently, the application to set aside the decision was dismissed. Given the unmeritorious nature of the application, which sought to reargue an unsuccessful appeal, the court ordered that the respondent be awarded indemnity costs.