Odtojan v Ford

The applicant, Ms Odtojan, sought leave to appeal an interlocutory decision of the primary court that struck out her Amended Statement of Claim, with limited liberty to replead. The Amended Statement of Claim had asserted allegations of fraud and conspiracy against the respondent, Mr Ford. The appeal was heard by White JA and Basten AJA in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether there was a sufficient basis for the applicant's allegations of fraud and conspiracy to warrant granting leave to appeal the primary court's decision to strike out the claim. This involved an assessment of whether the Amended Statement of Claim, as pleaded, disclosed a reasonable cause of action or was otherwise an abuse of process.

The Court of Appeal found that there was no basis for the allegations of fraud and conspiracy as pleaded in the Amended Statement of Claim. Consequently, leave to appeal was refused. In addition, the Court ordered that within 14 days, Ms Odtojan and Mr Bryl show cause why the judgment and the papers in the Court of Appeal should not be referred to the Legal Services Commissioner. The summons for leave to appeal was dismissed with costs.