Lee v Law Complaints Officer as the Delegate of the Legal Profession Complaints Committee

The appeal in Lee v Law Complaints Officer as the Delegate of the Legal Profession Complaints Committee involved the appellant, Mr Jeffrey Lee, challenging the decisions made by the State Administrative Tribunal (Tribunal) in reviewing complaints he made against his former solicitors. The Tribunal had upheld the dismissal of his complaints by the Legal Profession Complaints Committee (LPCC). Mr Lee sought to appeal the Tribunal's decision, contending that the Tribunal had erred in its consideration of the complaints. He also sought leave to appeal and to restrain certain solicitors from representing the respondents in this appeal. The issue of Mr Lee's bankruptcy, which occurred after the appeal was filed, was also considered. The court held that the appeal was not an action in respect of a personal injury or wrong done to Mr Lee, and thus, it fell under the deemed abandonment provision of the Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth). Consequently, the appeal was dismissed.

The primary legal issue in this case was whether the appeal could proceed given Mr Lee's bankruptcy and the nature of the appeal as a judicial review of the Tribunal's decision. The court examined whether the appeal fell within the exceptions provided by s 60(4) of the Bankruptcy Act, which allows a bankrupt to continue an action in respect of personal injury or wrong done to them. The court concluded that the appeal did not qualify as such an action, as it was a judicial review of the LPCC's decision to dismiss Mr Lee's complaints about the conduct of his former solicitors. Therefore, the appeal was considered to be abandoned under s 60(3) of the Bankruptcy Act. The court reasoned that since the appeal did not concern personal injury or wrong done to Mr Lee, and no election was made by the trustee in bankruptcy, the appeal should be dismissed. The court found no purpose in keeping the appeal on foot, and thus, dismissed the appeal.