Quach v Horvarth

The appellant, Quach, sought to appeal a decision of the primary judge who had dismissed a claim for damages. The claim was based on the alleged unlawfulness of conduct that had previously been the subject of a judicial review application brought by the appellant, which had been dismissed. The primary judge had dismissed the fresh claim for damages on the basis that it was prohibited by a vexatious proceedings order previously made against the appellant. The appellant then filed a notice of appeal against this dismissal.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the notice of appeal was competent, given the existence of the vexatious proceedings order. This involved considering whether the fresh claim for damages constituted a "proceeding" within the meaning of that order, and whether the appeal itself was a "proceeding" that was prohibited by the order.

Basten JA reasoned that the vexatious proceedings order, which prohibited the appellant from commencing any fresh proceedings in specified matters, extended to appeals arising from those matters. His Honour found that the claim for damages was a fresh proceeding in a specified matter, and therefore prohibited by the order. Consequently, the notice of appeal, which sought to challenge the dismissal of that prohibited proceeding, was itself an incompetent proceeding.

Accordingly, the notice of appeal filed on 15 March 2022 was dismissed as incompetent.