Price v Commonwealth of Australia

The case of Price v Commonwealth of Australia was heard in the Federal Court of Australia, specifically in the General Division of the Victoria District Registry. The applicants, Garry Price and Gregory Shah, filed an originating application against the respondent, initially named as the Department of Industry but later amended to reflect the Commonwealth of Australia as the respondent. The applicants sought damages, interest, and costs. The case was heard on 17 March 2014 by Justice Bromberg. The central legal issue revolved around whether the proceeding should be struck out for want of prosecution due to the applicants' failure to comply with the Court's orders to file and serve an amended statement of claim.

The court considered the procedural history of the case, which included an initial hearing on 3 December 2013 where the Court struck out the original statement of claim due to its unintelligible nature and failure to identify a reasonable cause of action. The applicants were ordered to file and serve an amended statement of claim by 14 February 2014. Despite this directive, no amended statement of claim was filed, leading to a directions hearing on 7 March 2014. The applicants did not appear for the hearing, and the Court's chambers had communicated with the applicants' solicitors, Mr. Chimonis, advising that the matter would be listed for a directions hearing to determine if the proceeding should be struck out for want of prosecution. On the hearing day, there was again no appearance for the applicants, leading the Court to conclude that it was appropriate to strike out the proceeding pursuant to Rule 1.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth).

In light of the applicants' non-compliance with the Court's orders and their failure to appear at both the directions hearing and the subsequent hearing, Justice Bromberg determined that the proceeding should be dismissed. This decision was made under the applicants' default under the terms of Rules 5.22(b), (c), and (d) of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth). The Court certified that the reasons for judgment were a true copy and dated the order on 1 April 2014.