Metroll and Anor v Francois Sahyoun and Anor (No.2)

Metroll Pty Ltd and Metroll (NSW) Pty Ltd (the applicants) sought to strike out or dismiss proceedings commenced by Francois Sahyoun and Sahyoun Holdings Pty Ltd (the respondents). The applicants contended that the respondents' statement of claim was an abuse of process, arguing it was a collateral attack on a previous decision of the Federal Court of Australia. The application was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the respondents' claim constituted an abuse of process by seeking to relitigate issues that had already been determined by the Federal Court. Specifically, the Court had to consider whether the respondents were attempting to circumvent the finality of the Federal Court's judgment through the current proceedings.

Justice Raphael found that the respondents' statement of claim, by alleging fraud and conspiracy in relation to the conduct of the applicants in the prior Federal Court proceedings, was an impermissible collateral attack on that judgment. His Honour applied the principle that a party cannot bring a new action to re-litigate matters that have been decided in a final judgment, absent specific circumstances such as fraud on the court itself, which were not established here. The Court determined that the respondents had not demonstrated any basis for challenging the Federal Court's findings and that the current proceedings were an attempt to re-argue the same substantive issues.

The Court ordered that the respondents' statement of claim be struck out and that the proceedings be dismissed.