Wei Fan v South Eastern Local Health District

In *Wei Fan v South Eastern Local Health District*, the Court of Appeal of New South Wales considered an application for leave to appeal a decision of a primary judge who had summarily dismissed the originating process. The applicant, Wei Fan, sought to appeal this dismissal.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the originating process filed by the applicant was properly subject to the doctrine of cause of action estoppel, thereby justifying its summary dismissal by the primary judge.

Meagher and White JJA reasoned that the primary judge had correctly applied the doctrine of cause of action estoppel. They found that the claims raised in the originating process were identical to those that had been litigated and determined in previous proceedings between the same parties. Consequently, the applicant was estopped from bringing the same cause of action again.

The Court of Appeal therefore dismissed the summons seeking leave to appeal filed on 25 September 2020.