The Owners of Strata Plan No 97315 v Icon Co (NSW) Pty Ltd

The Owners of Strata Plan No 97315 (the Applicant) sought leave to appeal from a discretionary decision of the primary judge in the NSW Court of Appeal. The primary judge had adopted aspects of a referee's report concerning a dispute between the Applicant and Icon Co (NSW) Pty Ltd.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the Applicant had demonstrated sufficient grounds to warrant leave to appeal from the primary judge's discretionary decision. Specifically, the Court considered whether the matter raised an issue of principle, a question of public importance, or a reasonably clear injustice that extended beyond mere arguability.

The Court of Appeal applied the well-established principles governing the grant of leave to appeal from discretionary decisions. These principles require an applicant to show more than just that the decision is arguably wrong. The Applicant needed to demonstrate that the primary judge's exercise of discretion miscarried in a significant way, such as by failing to consider relevant factors, taking into account irrelevant factors, or making a decision that was plainly unjust. The Court found that the Applicant had not met this threshold.

Consequently, the application for leave to appeal was dismissed with costs.