Martin v State of New South Wales

The case of *Martin v State of New South Wales* concerned an application for leave to appeal a costs order made in the Land and Environment Court. The applicant, Mr Martin, had previously been declared a vexatious litigant by Hidden J under the *Vexatious Proceedings Act 2008* (NSW). The respondent, Highlake Resources Pty Limited, argued that the present application should be heard separately from any challenge to the vexatious litigant order.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the present application for leave to appeal the costs order was excluded from the prohibition on bringing proceedings without leave, as imposed by the vexatious litigant order. This required the Court to construe the terms of the order made by Hidden J, specifically the exception for "the outstanding issue of costs in the Land and Environment Court proceedings 80006/2010". The Court also considered Mr Martin's stated intention not to seek leave under the *Vexatious Proceedings Act* but to proceed with an application for leave to appeal the vexatious litigant order itself.

The Court reasoned that determining whether the present application fell within the exception or the prohibition of the vexatious litigant order was crucial to assessing the respondent's submission that the matters should be dealt with separately. Given the interconnectedness of these issues, the Court concluded that the most appropriate course was to hear the application for leave to appeal the costs order together with any application challenging the validity of the vexatious litigant order.

The Court ordered that the matter be stood over to be heard with any application challenging the validity of the order made by Hidden J on 5 March 2013 under the *Vexatious Proceedings Act 2008* (NSW). The costs of the day were made costs in the proceedings.