Mallon & Co Lawyers Pty Ltd v Gam

The court was asked to decide whether to grant leave for Mallon & Co Lawyers Pty Ltd to issue a writ and serve notice out of jurisdiction, with the writ containing claims under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) and the Fair Trading Act 2005 (WA). The application was made by the first defendant in the proceedings. The legal issues before the court included whether leave should be granted under Order 10 and whether the action should be stayed on the basis of forum non conveniens. The primary consideration for granting leave under Order 10 was whether the court had jurisdiction to hear the case, considering the claims made under federal and state legislation. Additionally, the court had to weigh the convenience of the parties and the witnesses, and the interests of justice in determining whether to stay the proceedings on the basis of forum non conveniens.

The court found that there were compelling reasons to grant leave to serve the writ out of jurisdiction. It noted the significant connections between the parties and the subject matter of the dispute to the forum state. The court also determined that the interests of justice did not favour staying the proceedings on the basis of forum non conveniens, given the strong ties of the case to the jurisdiction and the convenience of the parties and witnesses. The court concluded that the case should proceed in the jurisdiction where the writ was to be served, and thus dismissed the application by the first defendant to stay the proceedings.