Proietti v Proietti (No 3)

The proceeding concerned an application by Mr Proietti to set aside orders made by the Supreme Court of New South Wales appointing trustees for sale. The application was brought pursuant to a *Teoh* order, which allows a party to seek to set aside an earlier judgment or order on the basis that it was obtained by fraud, or by a fundamental mistake of fact or law. The primary judge had dismissed Mr Proietti's application, and he appealed this decision to the Court of Appeal.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether Mr Proietti's further application to set aside the orders appointing trustees for sale constituted a vexatious or abusive process. This required the court to consider the principles governing the finality of litigation and the circumstances in which a *Teoh* order may be invoked to revisit concluded matters.

Leeming JA, in dismissing the appeal, reasoned that the application to set aside the orders was an abuse of process. His Honour found that the grounds relied upon by Mr Proietti had either been previously considered and rejected by the court, or were not of a nature that would justify setting aside the orders under the *Teoh* principles. The court emphasised the importance of finality in legal proceedings and the high threshold required to disturb existing orders, particularly when the application appears to be a collateral attack on previous decisions or an attempt to re-litigate issues already determined.

The notice of motion dated 24 July 2023 was dismissed.