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High Court strikes out proceedings brought by plaintiff which effectively mirror proceedings brought over six years earlier - including parts of the earlier proceedings which have since been struck-out by the Court of Appeal, on the grounds that the new proceedings: (a) are a repetition of the original claim and are frivolous and vexatious; (b) seek to circumvent the Court of Appeal's ruling that the earlier action offends the rule in Foss v Harbottle; (c) raises matters which are res judicata; (d) offend the rule established in case law in that once litigation commences in respect of a particular matter, a plaintiff cannot keep issues in reserve for later proceedings and; (e) the new proceedings are clearly statute barred.
Motion to have proceedings struck out - proceedings commenced by plaintiff in 2009 for damages for breach of contract and negligence - majority of plaintiff's claim relates to losses suffered by companies in which he is a shareholder - in June 2015 Court of Appeal struck out majority of plaintiff's claim for, among other things, offending the rule in Foss -v- Harbottle - later in 2015 plaintiff issued new proceedings which largely mirror the 2009 proceedings and include parts of 2009 proceedings struck out by the Court of appeal - whether 2015 proceedings are frivolous, vexatious and oppressive - whether 2015 proceedings should be struck out - after brining 2015 proceedings plaintiff added the two relevant companies as plaintiffs - no application made or leave sought in respect of this - purported addition of companies is of no legal effect - concurrent causes of action - court finds that 2015 proceedings are an abuse of process as they are a repetition of the case made in the 2009 proceedings - 2015 proceedings should also be struck out on the basis that the Court of Appeal has made its determination in relation to the rule of Foss -v- Harbottle and the new proceedings are an attempt to circumvent this ruling - matter is res judicata - new proceedings also offend the rule in Henderson -v- Henderson - when matter becomes the subject of litigation, plaintiff must make their entire case and cannot keep causes of action in reserve for later proceedings - new proceedings are also statute barred - plaintiff had all relevant information before him to constitute his cause of action in 2009 - accordingly 2015 proceedings are an abuse of process and are frivolous, vexatious and oppressive - court strikes out 2015 proceedings.
Note: This is intended to be a fair and accurate report of a decision made public by a court of law. Any errors should be notified to the editor and will be dealt with accordingly.
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