Wang v State of New South Wales (No 4)

In *Wang v State of New South Wales (No 4)*, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered a notice of motion filed by the applicant seeking to set aside previous orders that refused an application for leave to appeal. The respondent, the State of New South Wales, contended that the motion constituted an impermissible attempt to re-agitate matters already determined and was therefore vexatious and an abuse of process.

The primary legal issue before Macfarlan and Payne JJA was whether the applicant's notice of motion was a legitimate procedural step or an abuse of the court's process. This required the Court to assess whether the grounds raised in the motion had already been considered and determined in prior proceedings, and if so, whether there were any exceptional circumstances justifying a re-examination of those issues.

The Court found that the applicant's arguments had been fully canvassed and rejected in previous applications before the Court. It concluded that the notice of motion was not a genuine attempt to advance new arguments or address errors in the previous decisions, but rather a repetitive and unmeritorious effort to relitigate concluded matters. Applying the principles concerning vexatious litigation and abuse of process, the Court determined that allowing the motion to proceed would be contrary to the efficient administration of justice.

Consequently, the Court dismissed the notice of motion and ordered that the applicant pay the costs of the respondent.