Woodman v Australian and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd

The applicant, Ms. Woodman, sought leave to appeal from a decision of the primary judge who had refused her leave to amend her defence and had granted summary judgment in favour of the respondent, Australian and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. The dispute concerned the applicant's liability to the respondent.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the primary judge erred in refusing leave to amend the defence, particularly in circumstances where the applicant contended that the proposed amendment would allow her to advance further evidence in support of her defence. This, in turn, raised the question of whether the refusal of the amendment was an error that vitiated the subsequent grant of summary judgment.

The Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal, but limited the scope of the appeal to the specific issue identified concerning the refusal of the amendment to the defence. This indicated that the Court considered there to be an arguable case that the primary judge's decision on the amendment was erroneous and warranted further appellate scrutiny. The Court also made directions regarding the filing of a formal Notice of Appeal and enquired about the availability of pro bono legal representation for the applicant. The costs of the application for leave to appeal were reserved to be dealt with as costs of the appeal itself.