Wu v Ling (No 3)

In *Wu v Ling (No 3)*, Ms Wu sought a stay of a judgment entered against her in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, pending an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia. The dispute concerned a judgment for a total sum of $3,086,424.71.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether it possessed the equitable jurisdiction to grant a stay of its own judgment, and if so, on what principles such a stay should be granted, particularly in circumstances where the applicant intended to seek special leave to appeal to the High Court. The court also considered the equitable jurisdiction to intervene in relation to unconscionable bargains, though this appears to be a background consideration rather than the central issue for the stay application itself.

Macfarlan JA applied the principles governing applications for a stay of proceedings pending an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court. His Honour considered the prospects of success on appeal and the balance of convenience. The court determined that a partial stay was warranted, acknowledging the applicant's intention to seek High Court review and the potential for significant prejudice if the judgment were fully enforced and later overturned.

Consequently, the Court of Appeal ordered that the judgment be stayed to the extent of $1,824,800.58 until the determination of Ms Wu's special leave application and any subsequent appeal to the High Court. The remaining portion of the judgment, $1,261,624.13, was to remain enforceable. Liberty was granted to Mr Ling to apply to vacate the stay if Ms Wu failed to expeditiously pursue her High Court application. The costs of the stay application were ordered to follow the costs of the special leave application, with a provision for Ms Wu to pay the costs of the stay application if the stay was vacated due to her failure to prosecute the High Court proceedings.