Sirakas v Alstom Limited

In *Sirakas v Alstom Limited*, the applicant sought a stay of proceedings from the Court of Appeal of New South Wales. The basis for the stay was the potential for wasted expenditure should the applicant's appeal be successful, coupled with an alleged inability of the applicant to afford such expenditure.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the applicant had adduced sufficient evidence to establish its inability to afford the expenditure in question, thereby justifying a stay of proceedings.

Campbell JA dismissed the application, finding that the only evidence presented to support the assertion of the applicant's financial inability was an affidavit from the applicant's solicitor. This affidavit stated that the solicitor was informed and believed the applicant could not afford to provide the necessary funds. His Honour held this to be insufficient evidence to support the assertion. Consequently, the Court of Appeal ordered that the Notice of Motion be dismissed with costs, and directed the parties to approach the Registrar promptly to obtain a hearing date for the appeal.