McDonald v The State of South Australia; McDonald v Attorney-General for the State of South Australia

The appellants, Mr McDonald and another, sought to appeal two decisions of the Supreme Court of South Australia. The first appeal concerned an order summarily dismissing their action against the State of South Australia, which the primary judge found to be vexatious, an abuse of process, and lacking a reasonable cause of action. The second appeal challenged an order made by another judge prohibiting the appellants from filing further documents in existing proceedings or commencing new ones in South Australian courts, except in relation to the first appeal and separate vexatious litigant proceedings.

The Court was required to determine whether the primary judge erred in summarily dismissing the appellants' action. It also had to consider the validity of the interlocutory injunction that prohibited the appellants from commencing or filing further proceedings. Additionally, the Court dealt with several interlocutory applications related to the second appeal, including an application for leave to appeal, an application by the Attorney-General to strike out the second appeal, and an application by the appellants for further time to file amended appeal documents.

In relation to the first appeal, the Court held that leave to appeal was refused and the appeal was otherwise dismissed. For the second appeal, the Court dismissed the appeal against the interlocutory injunction order. The appellants' interlocutory applications were also dismissed. The Court noted that the litigation involving Mr McDonald had spanned 18 years and a significant number of actions. The Court ordered the appellants to pay the respondents' costs in a fixed amount of $250 for each appeal.