Warne v ACN 603 541 411 Pty Ltd t/a Chandlers International Lawyers

In *Warne v ACN 603 541 411 Pty Ltd t/a Chandlers International Lawyers*, the appellant, Mr Warne, sought to appeal a decision. The respondent, ACN 603 541 411 Pty Ltd, filed a motion seeking to dismiss the appeal. The Court of Appeal was required to consider the consequences of the appellant's delay in filing the notice of appeal and the non-compliance of that notice with the formal requirements of the *Uniform Civil Procedure Rules*.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether a delay of two days in filing an appeal, where no prejudice was suffered by the respondent, was a sufficient ground to dismiss the appeal as incompetent, and whether a notice of appeal that failed to comply with the rules regarding the specificity of grounds of appeal should be struck out. The Court also had to determine whether to grant the appellant an opportunity to rectify these procedural deficiencies.

Kirk JA determined that a short delay in filing an appeal, absent prejudice to the respondent, did not necessarily render an appeal incompetent, and that the appellant should be afforded an opportunity to apply for an extension of time. Furthermore, the Court found that a notice of appeal that did not meet the required specificity of grounds could be struck out, but again, the appellant should be permitted to file an amended notice that complied with the rules.

Consequently, the Court ordered that the respondent's motion be stood over, directed the appellant to file any application for an extension of time by a specified date, and struck out the appellant's original notice of appeal. The appellant was granted leave to file an amended notice of appeal by the same date, and the matter was listed for directions before the Registrar. The appellant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs of the motion to date.