Notaras & Anor v St George Bank Ltd & Ors

In the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory, the plaintiffs George Notaras and Anna Notaras sought to further amend their statement of claim in proceedings against St George Bank Limited, Dibeek Holdings Pty Ltd, and Leda Holdings Pty Ltd. The plaintiffs sought to reinstate Gahahan Pty Ltd as a party to the proceedings and to make additional allegations of bad faith and collusion. The defendants opposed the application on the grounds that it would be an abuse of process, as the plaintiffs had already had an opportunity to present their case in previous proceedings. The court considered the principles of res judicata, issue estoppel, and abuse of process in determining the matter. The court found that the previous decisions of Whitlam J and Miles CJ were interlocutory in nature and did not preclude the plaintiffs from making their current application. However, the court also found that the plaintiffs' application would be an abuse of process, as it sought to relitigate issues that had already been determined and to adduce evidence that was available at the time of the previous proceedings. The court dismissed the plaintiffs' application with costs.