Quach v RU (No 2)

The proceeding between Mr Quach and RU (No 2) was filed in the Federal Court of Australia and concerns an application by Mr Quach seeking a declaration that a non-party had not complied with a subpoena. The application was filed after the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory had dismissed all of Mr Quach's claims against RU. The court was required to determine whether the application raised a justiciable controversy or if it was an abuse of process. The court considered whether the application was legally incoherent and foredoomed to fail.

The court found that the application was an abuse of process as it raised no justiciable controversy. The final orders of the Supreme Court created a res judicata that extinguished all of Mr Quach's rights against RU in relation to the subject matter of that proceeding. Furthermore, the court determined that the subpoena was ineffective, creating an issue estoppel. The dismissal of Mr Quach's appeal in the Supreme Court resulted in the creation of a res judicata in which all Mr Quach's rights in relation to RU merged in the judgment. The court concluded that the application was incapable of resolving any matter between the parties and was legally incoherent.

The court dismissed the proceeding as an abuse of process and ordered Mr Quach to pay the respondent's costs of the proceeding. The dismissal was based on the finding that the application raised no justiciable controversy, was legally incoherent, and was foredoomed to fail. The court determined that the final orders of the Supreme Court created a res judicata and an issue estoppel, which made the application unmaintainable.