Sebie v Pham (No 4)

In *Sebie v Pham (No 4)*, the Court of Appeal considered an application for a stay of orders made in underlying proceedings. The applicant sought to stay orders directing the payment out of funds held in court, pending an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court. The Court of Appeal had previously refused leave to appeal against both the payment orders and earlier interlocutory orders by a majority decision.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether there was a substantial prospect that the High Court would grant special leave to appeal. This required the Court to assess the merits of the proposed appeal to the High Court, specifically considering whether the grounds of appeal raised a question of law that was of general public importance or otherwise warranted the attention of the High Court.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the application for a stay. In reaching this decision, the Court applied the principles governing applications for stays pending special leave applications to the High Court. These principles require the applicant to demonstrate not merely an arguable case, but a substantial prospect that special leave will be granted. The Court found that the applicant had failed to establish such a substantial prospect, particularly in light of the previous refusal of leave to appeal by the Court of Appeal itself.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal ordered that the amended notice of motion dated 27 November 2021 be dismissed with costs.