Monteiro v State of New South Wales

In *Monteiro v State of New South Wales*, the Court of Appeal of New South Wales considered an appeal where the appellant had consistently failed to comply with court directions for the filing and service of submissions. The appellant's stated reasons for these failures included a pending application for legal aid and ongoing attempts to secure legal representation. The existing notice of appeal was also found to be deficient.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether to dismiss the appeal due to the appellant's non-compliance with procedural directions, or to grant a final opportunity for the appellant to rectify the deficiencies. The Court was required to determine the appropriate course of action in light of the appellant's persistent failures and the stated reasons for those failures, while also considering the need for the appeal to proceed on a proper basis.

Meagher JA, applying principles of civil procedure and the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules (UCPR), acknowledged the appellant's difficulties but emphasised the importance of compliance with court orders. The Court ultimately granted the appellant a final opportunity to comply with the directions. This involved filing and serving any notice of motion for the reception of additional evidence, the supporting affidavit evidence, an amended notice of appeal clearly stating the specific grounds relied upon in accordance with UCPR r 51.18(1)(e), and written submissions in support of the appeal, all by 15 September 2022. The Court ordered that the appeal would be dismissed if these requirements were not met by the specified date, and that the appellant pay the respondent's costs of the appeal and the costs of the hearing on 11 July 2022.