Miles v Amos

[2021] NSWCA 210

Court of Appeal

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

Miles v Amos [2021] NSWCA 210

Hearing dates:

24 August 2021

Decision date:

10 September 2021

Before:

Meagher JA at [1];
Leeming JA at [2];
Brereton JA at [74].

Decision:

1. Appeal dismissed with costs.

2. Discharge the stay ordered on 9 February 2021 of order 2 made on 3 February 2021.

Catchwords:

DEEDS – execution – whether defendant signed deed – creditor and witness testified that defendant signed deed – defendant testified that she did not sign deed – uncontradicted expert evidence that defendant’s signature was not authentic – primary judge dismissed proceedings on basis of not being persuaded that debtor had signed deed – whether conclusion disclosed appellable error – appeal dismissed

Legislation Cited:

Uniform Civil Procedure Rules, rr 31.23, 36.16, Sch 7

Cases Cited:

ACES Sogutlu Holdings Pty Ltd (in liq) v Commonwealth Bank of Australia (2014) 89 NSWLR 209; [2014] NSWCA 402

Fox v Percy (2003) 214 CLR 118; [2003] HCA 22

Lee v Lee (2019) 266 CLR 192; [2019] HCA 28

Miles v Amos [2021] NSWSC 38

Category:

Principal judgment

Parties:

Phillip Jacob Miles (Appellant)
Catherine Gonzales Amos (Respondent)

Representation:

Counsel:
Appellant (self-represented)
P Folino-Gallo (Respondent)

Solicitors:
Coleman Greig Lawyers (Respondent)

File Number(s):

2021/00035934

Publication restriction:

Nil

 Decision under appeal 

Court or tribunal:

Supreme Court of New South Wales

Jurisdiction:

Equity

Citation:

[2021] NSWSC 38

Date of Decision:

3 February 2021

Before:

Hallen J

File Number(s):

2018/00185934

Judgment

1. MEAGHER JA: I agree with the reasons of Leeming JA and the orders he proposes.

2. LEEMING JA: Mr Phillip Jacob Miles appeals as of right from the dismissal of his third amended statement of claim against Ms Catherine Gonzales Amos following a four day trial in the Equity Division in August and September 2020. The primary judge produced reasons for judgment of 547 paragraphs: Miles v Amos [2021] NSWSC 38. The notice of appeal includes no fewer than 49 grounds, plus a further ground related to costs and an application for leave to adduce further evidence. Mr Miles appeared for himself in this Court as he had at trial. However, the letterhead of his first correspondence with Mr Amos’ solicitors describes him as “a very experience [sic] Litigant in the Court of Appeal, Federal Court and the High Court”. That experience is not as a lawyer admitted to practise in any of those Courts or any other Australian court. The primary judge recorded Mr Miles’ evidence that he “purchased debts and cases from other people” as his business and that he “run[s] those cases in [his] own name for profit”. He was extremely familiar with the details of the evidence in this proceeding, giving a rapidly delivered address occupying some 3¼ hours.

3. Notwithstanding the length of the reasons for judgment and the notice of appeal, this appeal turns on a single issue. Mr Miles maintains that he purchased a debt owed by the respondent, Ms Catherine Gonzales Amos. Mr Miles…