Von Risefer v Permanent Trustee Company Limited

Von Risefer v Permanent Trustee Company Limited involved an appeal against a decision to strike out a notice of appeal. The primary judge had ruled that the statement of claim was scandalous and absurd, disclosing no cause of action. The appeal against this decision raised issues regarding the merit of the appeal and whether the notice of appeal should be struck out as vexatious and an abuse of process. Additionally, there were allegations of bias against the primary judge.

The court examined the merit of the appeal and the appropriateness of striking out the notice of appeal. It considered whether the allegations made in the notice of appeal and the outline of argument reiterated the scandalous and absurd claims from the original statement of claim. The court also addressed the allegations of bias against the primary judge. The court found that the appeal had no merit and that the notice of appeal should be struck out as vexatious and an abuse of process. The allegations of bias were dismissed as the court found no evidence to support them.

The court further addressed the issue of preventing the plaintiffs from instituting further proceedings against the defendants concerning the same allegations. The court relied on its inherent jurisdiction to prevent abuse of process and found that it had the power to prevent the plaintiffs from making the same complaints in fresh proceedings. The court exercised this power and restrained the plaintiffs from making any further applications or steps in relation to the allegations without the prior leave of a judge of the Trial Division of the Supreme Court.

The final orders included striking out the notice of appeal, restraining the plaintiffs from taking further steps concerning the allegations without leave, and ordering the plaintiffs to pay the defendants' costs of the application.