Jorgensen v Wilson (No 2)

The case of Jorgensen v Wilson (No 2) [2023] ACTSC 40 was heard by Mossop J in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory. The plaintiff, Alan Jorgensen, brought proceedings against four former officers of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) who were involved in events in 1999. The defendants sought to strike out or stay the proceedings on the basis that they were an abuse of process or otherwise frivolous, scandalous, unnecessary, vexatious, or lacking reasonable cause of action. The defendants also sought a declaration that Jorgensen was a vexatious litigant under s 67A of the Supreme Court Act 1933 (ACT) and sought an order for indemnity costs.

The court found that the proceedings were an abuse of process because they lacked merit and sought to relitigate matters that had been subject to previous proceedings. The proceedings were also statute-barred, and no standing was identified. The court concluded that the proceedings amounted to an abuse of the court's process and were liable to be permanently stayed. The court further found that Jorgensen had frequently instituted vexatious proceedings and made a declaration that he was a vexatious litigant. The court ordered that Jorgensen pay the defendants' costs on a solicitor and client basis and that any application for gross sum costs be made within 28 days of the date of the orders.