Snedden v Nationwide News Pty Limited

The appellant, Mr Snedden, sought to appeal a decision, but his appeal was stayed by Hodgson JA in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales due to his evasion of lawful custody. The dispute arose from an order made by a Deputy Chief Magistrate and confirmed by the High Court of Australia, requiring Mr Snedden to be taken into custody.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the appeal should be summarily dismissed given the appellant's failure to comply with the custody order and his evasion of lawful custody. This also encompassed the question of whether the appeal should be stayed pending compliance with the court's orders.

Hodgson JA applied the principle that a party who is evading lawful custody and defying court orders may have their appeal stayed or dismissed. The court reasoned that it would be inappropriate to allow an appeal to proceed when the appellant was actively avoiding the consequences of a prior judicial determination. Consequently, the court ordered that the appeal be stayed until further order, with a condition that unless the appellant filed an affidavit by a specified date disclosing either notification of his whereabouts and availability for custody, or that he had been taken into custody, the appeal would be dismissed with costs. If the affidavit was filed, the matter would be relisted for further consideration of the stay and security for costs.