Teoh v Hunters Hill Council (No 8)

In *Teoh v Hunters Hill Council (No 8)*, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an application by Ms Teoh to vary or set aside a judgment. The application was made out of time, and the Court also considered whether to make a vexatious proceedings order of its own motion.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether it had the power to entertain Ms Teoh's application to vary or set aside the judgment, given that it was filed outside the prescribed time limits. A further issue was whether the Court should exercise its discretion to make a vexatious proceedings order against Ms Teoh under the *Vexatious Proceedings Act 2008*.

The Court held that an application to vary or set aside a judgment under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 was only available where the challenge was to orders made by a single Judge of Appeal, and that Ms Teoh's application did not fall within this category. Furthermore, the Court found that Ms Teoh's conduct in pursuing litigation demonstrated a pattern of vexatious behaviour, justifying the making of orders under the *Vexatious Proceedings Act 2008*.

Consequently, the Court ordered that all proceedings in New South Wales relating to the subject matter of the Land and Environment Court proceedings and the previous Court of Appeal proceedings be stayed. Ms Teoh was also prohibited from instituting further proceedings in the Supreme Court of New South Wales concerning the same subject matter.