Mackay Real Estate v Morris

Mackay Real Estate filed a claim against Morris, seeking compensation for alleged breaches of contract. The dispute was heard in the tribunal, where a decision was made in the absence of Morris, who believed the matter had been settled prior to the initial hearing. Dissatisfied with the outcome, Morris appealed to the court, arguing that the absence of a party and the mistaken belief about settlement amounted to a miscarriage of justice.

The court was required to determine whether the circumstances of the trial constituted a miscarriage of justice warranting a new trial. Specifically, it needed to assess whether the absence of Morris and his belief that the matter had been settled prior to the hearing amounted to an unsatisfactory nature of the trial.

The court found that the absence of Morris and his mistaken belief about the settlement indeed amounted to a miscarriage of justice. The court held that the nature of the trial was unsatisfactory because a key party was absent, and there was a fundamental misunderstanding about the status of the matter. Consequently, the court referred the matter back to the tribunal to decide whether the proceeding should be reopened. Additionally, the court ordered that notice of this referral must be given to each party to the proceeding.