LAZ24 v Purcell (Examiner) (Stay Application)

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FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

LAZ24 v Purcell (Examiner) (Stay Application) [2025] FCA 946  

Appeal from: Purcell (Examiner) v LAZ24 [2025] FCA 413
File number(s): NSD 839 of 2025
Judgment of: NEEDHAM J
Date of judgment: 12 August 2025
Catchwords: CONTEMPT OF COURT – sentencing - application for temporary stay pending appeal – held appeal grounds not sufficiently strong to ground a stay – compassionate or discretionary grounds a foreseeable consequence of coercive sentence – stay not granted  
Legislation:

Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 (Cth) s 34A

Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) ss 25, 43

Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) rr 1.41, 36.08

Bail Act2013 (NSW) ss 16A, 17, 18, 62

Cases cited:

Alexander v Cambridge Credit Corporation Ltd (Receivers Appointed) (1985) 2 NSWLR 685

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v BMW (Australia) Ltd (No 2) [2003] FCA 864

Barbaro v The Queen (2014) 253 CLR 58; [2014] HCA 2

Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union v Boral Resources (Vic) Pty Ltd (2015) 256 CLR 375; [2015] HCA 21

Director of Public Prosecutions (Cth) v De La Rosa (2010) 79 NSWLR 1; [2010] NSWCCA 194

Kazal v Thunder Studios Inc (California) (2017) 256 FCR 90; [2017] FCAFC 111

Kazal v Thunder Studios Inc (California) [2017] FCA 238

Lane v R [2025] NSWCCA 113

Lloydv R [2022] NSWCCA 18

McBride v Sandland (No 2) (1918) 25 CLR 369

Obeid v R (No 2) [2016] NSWCCA 321

Powerflex Services Pty Ltd v Data Access Corp (1996) 67 FCR 65

Purcell (Examiner) v LAZ24 [2025] FCA 413

United Mexican States v Cabal (2001) 209 CLR 165; [2001] HCA 60

Division: General Division
Registry: New South Wales
National Practice Area: Federal Crime and Related Proceedings
Number of paragraphs: 54
Date of hearing: 8 August 2025
Counsel for the Appellant: K Doherty
Solicitor for the Appellant: Miers Legal
Counsel for the Respondent: AN Williams
Solicitor for the Respondent: Australian Government Solicitor

ORDERS

NSD 839 of 2025
BETWEEN:

LAZ24

Appellant

AND:

ANDREW PURCELL, AN EXAMINER APPOINTED UNDER S46B OF THE AUSTRALIAN CRIME COMMISSION ACT 2002 (CTH)

Respondent

ORDER MADE BY:

NEEDHAM J

DATE OF ORDER:

12 AUGUST 2025

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

1.The application be dismissed with costs.

2.Pursuant to s 37AF of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth), on the grounds in s 37AG(1)(a) and (c):

(a)These unredacted reasons for judgment not be published and not be made available to any person other than a party to the proceeding or their legal representatives otherwise than pursuant to an order of a judge of the Court.

(b)Within three days of the date these reasons are provided to the parties, the parties provide to the Associate to Needham J a proposed redacted version of the reasons for judgment which the parties consider is appropriate for publication.

3.The name of the appellant’s wife be redacted from any transcript of the proceedings.

Note:   Entry of orders is dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.

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Details
Case
[2025] FCA 946
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case involved LAZ24, who sought a temporary stay of a sentence pending an appeal against the sentence. The sentence was imposed by Purcell, an Examiner. The dispute was heard in the Federal Court of Australia. The applicant argued that the sentence was coercive and that there were grounds for appeal that were strong enough to warrant a stay. The applicant sought a stay on the basis of the coercive nature of the sentence, arguing that it could result in a foreseeable consequence of his wife being exposed to contempt of court proceedings.

The court was required to determine whether the appeal grounds were sufficiently strong to warrant a stay of the sentence pending the appeal. The court also had to consider whether there were any compassionate or discretionary grounds that could justify a stay. The applicant argued that the coercive nature of the sentence could result in his wife being exposed to contempt of court proceedings, which would be a foreseeable consequence of the sentence. The court had to weigh the coercive nature of the sentence against the need to uphold the rule of law and the importance of finality in legal proceedings.

The court found that the appeal grounds were not sufficiently strong to warrant a stay of the sentence. The court noted that the coercive nature of the sentence was a foreseeable consequence of the sentence, but that this did not necessarily mean that the sentence was coercive in the legal sense. The court also noted that the applicant had not demonstrated any compassionate or discretionary grounds that could justify a stay. The court found that the sentence was not coercive and that the applicant had not demonstrated any grounds for a stay. The court dismissed the application and ordered that the unredacted reasons for judgment not be published and not be made available to any person other than a party to the proceeding or their legal representatives otherwise than pursuant to an order of a judge of the Court. The court also ordered that the name of the appellant’s wife be redacted from any transcript of the proceedings.

Orders

Orders of the court

1. The application be dismissed with costs.

2. Pursuant to s 37AF of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth), on the grounds in s 37AG(1)(a) and (c):

(a) These unredacted reasons for judgment not be published and not be made available to any person other than a party to the proceeding or their legal representatives otherwise than pursuant to an order of a judge of the Court.

(b) Within three days of the date these reasons are provided to the parties, the parties provide to the Associate to Needham J a proposed redacted version of the reasons for judgment which the parties consider is appropriate for publication.

3. The name of the appellant’s wife be redacted from any transcript of the proceedings.

Note: Entry of orders is dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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