Shalhoub v Law Society of NSW (No. 2)

In the Federal Court of Australia, Shalhoub, a legal practitioner, contested the decision of the Law Society of New South Wales to cancel his practising certificate. The society argued that Shalhoub had failed to prosecute his proceedings in a timely manner, resulting in the dismissal of the case. The court was required to determine whether the proceedings were to be dismissed due to the plaintiff's failure to prosecute and whether any further opportunity should be given to the plaintiff to remedy the delay. The court examined the procedural history of the case, including the plaintiff's previous strike-out of his pleadings and the subsequent dismissal of his application for leave to re-plead.

The Federal Court held that the plaintiff had not shown sufficient reasons for the delay in prosecuting the proceedings. The court noted that the proceedings had been filed over 14 months earlier, and the plaintiff's pleading had been struck out six months prior to the hearing. Despite being granted leave to re-plead, the plaintiff had not filed any further pleadings and did not appear before the court. The court found that the plaintiff had failed to provide any explanation for the delay, and the circumstances did not warrant a departure from the usual approach to dealing with cases where there has been a failure to prosecute. The court concluded that the proceedings should be dismissed for want of prosecution.

The Federal Court dismissed the plaintiff's proceedings. The court ordered that the proceedings be dismissed with costs, which were to be paid by the plaintiff. The court found that the plaintiff had not provided any sufficient reasons for the delay in prosecuting the proceedings, and the circumstances did not warrant a departure from the usual approach to dealing with cases where there has been a failure to prosecute. The court held that the proceedings were to be dismissed, and the plaintiff was to bear the costs of the proceedings.