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Pritchard v Fryer

Pritchard v Fryer

Case [2020] NSWSC 744 19 June 2020

Perjury

Criminal Liability

Criminal Law

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Supreme Court

New South Wales

Amendment notes

Medium Neutral Citation: Pritchard v Fryer [2020] NSWSC 744
Hearing dates: On the papers
Date of orders: 19 June 2020
Decision date: 19 June 2020
Jurisdiction: Equity
Before: Robb J
Decision:
See par [92]

Catchwords:
CRIME — Public justice offences — Perjury — where leave of the Court is sought to commence criminal proceedings — where the criminal charge sought has not been formulated — where there is nothing that remotely establishes that any of the alleged statements constituted perjury — motion dismissed
CIVIL PROCEDURE — Court administration — Case management — where various forms of relief are sought including case management for an appeal from the Local Court to the Supreme Court — where it would be an improper imposition on the capacity of the Court to devote time to misconceived claims — various prayers dismissed
Legislation Cited: Crimes Act 1900 (NSW)
Oaths Act 1900 (NSW)
Uncollected Goods Act 1995 (NSW)
Cases Cited: Mohareb v Palmer [2016] NSWCA 378
Pritchard v Fryer [2017] NSWSC 1752
Pritchard v Fryer; Pritchard v Hall [2018] NSWSC 1141
Pritchard v Fryer [2019] NSWSC 947
William Wayne Moss v Luke McIlveen [2011] NSWCA 77
Category: Procedural and other rulings
Parties: Andrew Ronald Pritchard (plaintiff / applicant)
Gregory Robert Fryer (defendant / respondent)
Representation:
Counsel: A R Pritchard (self) (plaintiff / applicant)
G R Fryer (self) (defendant / respondent)
Solicitors:

File Number(s): 2016 / 90273; 2018 / 124156

Judgment

This is another judgment in the endless litigation between Andrew Ronald Pritchard and Gregory Robert Fryer.
I have not been able to work out how many judgments have been delivered by different judges of this Court in different proceedings commenced by the parties. Accordingly, I have not been able to give the title to the proceedings a number to distinguish it from all of the other judgments.
As I understand it, the Court has received submissions from the parties in respect of the determination of four notices of motion filed by Mr Pritchard. Those notices of motion have been filed in two separate proceedings in the Court.

Proceedings No 2016/90273

One of the proceedings is No 2016/90273 (the 2016 proceedings) which was commenced by Mr Pritchard. On 14 December 2017, I made an order dismissing those proceedings: Pritchard v Fryer [2017] NSWSC 1752.
Mr Pritchard has filed two notices of motion in those proceedings. By the first, filed on 28 June 2019, Mr Pritchard seeks orders that, if granted, would authorise him to commence a private criminal prosecution against Mr Fryer. I will explain the orders sought by Mr Pritchard in more detail below.
By the second notice of motion, filed on 18 February 2020, Mr Pritchard seeks an order that this notice of motion be decided before the 28 June 2019 notice of motion. The prayers in the notice of motion seek the determination by the Court of 17 different questions described as questions “of fact and law”.

Proceedings No 2018/124156

The second of the proceedings is…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Pritchard v Fryer

Details

AGLC: Pritchard v Fryer [2020] NSWSC 744
Case: [2020] NSWSC 744
Decision Date: 19 June 2020

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Pritchard sought leave to commence criminal proceedings against Fryer, alleging that Fryer committed perjury during a previous proceeding. The case came before the Supreme Court, where the central issue was whether leave should be granted to initiate criminal proceedings when the charge itself had not been formulated and there was insufficient evidence to suggest that any of the statements made constituted perjury. The court was also tasked with determining whether it was appropriate to manage the case in a way that would facilitate an appeal from the Local Court to the Supreme Court.

The court found that the application to commence criminal proceedings was not supported by any evidence that could substantiate a charge of perjury. There was no basis to conclude that any of the statements made by Fryer were false and made with the intent to deceive. Additionally, the court held that it would be inappropriate to manage the case in a manner that would allow for an appeal without proper formulation of the charge. It was deemed an improper use of the court's resources to entertain such a misconceived appeal. The court emphasised the need for clear and substantiated legal claims to be presented before it could consider any form of relief.

Consequently, the motion for leave to commence criminal proceedings was dismissed. The court also dismissed the various other prayers that were part of the application, including the request for case management concerning the proposed appeal. The court's decision underscored the importance of ensuring that legal proceedings are founded on solid evidence and clear legal grounds. The orders of the court effectively denied Pritchard the opportunity to proceed with the criminal charges against Fryer and dismissed all other prayers for relief in the application.

Orders