Mendonca v Tonna

In *Mendonca v Tonna*, the applicant sought to set aside or vary orders previously made by the Court of Appeal. The dispute concerned the applicant's attempt to join additional parties to existing proceedings and to challenge the court's prior decisions.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether it was appropriate to grant the applicant's request to set aside or vary the existing orders, and whether the applicant should be permitted to join new parties to the proceedings at this late stage. The court also considered whether there were any grounds, such as irregularity, illegality, or lack of good faith, that would justify re-opening the matter.

The court reasoned that an application to re-open or vary orders is generally best determined by the judges who made the original decision. It found that the applicant had been clearly warned of the need to join parties earlier in the proceedings and that it was now too late to do so. The court identified no irregularity, illegality, or lack of good faith in the prior proceedings, concluding that mere dissatisfaction with the outcome of litigation is insufficient grounds for re-opening.

Consequently, the applicant’s motion filed on 6 May 2025 was dismissed.