Saunders v RHG Mortgage Corporation Limited

The applicant, Saunders, sought to appeal a judgment of an Associate Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales against the respondent, RHG Mortgage Corporation Limited. The appeal, though competent, had been irregularly commenced. The primary question before Beazley P, sitting in chambers, was whether the matter should be remitted to the Common Law Division of the court.

The central legal issue was whether the irregular commencement of the appeal necessitated its remission to the Common Law Division, notwithstanding that a hearing date had already been allocated and both parties expressed a desire to proceed with the appeal.

Beazley P declined to remit the matter. The reasoning focused on the practicalities of the situation, acknowledging that a hearing date had been fixed and that the parties wished to proceed. The court exercised its discretion to allow the appeal to continue in its current form, rather than imposing the procedural step of remission which would likely cause delay and inconvenience, given the existing arrangements for the hearing.

The order made was to decline to remit the matter.