Alexandra Samootin v Christopher George Shea

ALEXANDRA SAMOOTIN
v
CHRISTOPHER GEORGE SHEA & ORS
[2014] HCASL 104
S195/2013

Since 2001, the applicant has instituted a plethora of proceedings concerning a particular property transaction. On 31 May 2012, the applicant sought leave to appeal from various decisions of the Supreme Court of New South Wales made in respect of a number of those proceedings.
On 20 November 2012, the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (Campbell JA) dismissed the application for leave to appeal as an abuse of process. Consistently with an earlier Court of Appeal decision refusing the applicant leave to appeal from all but one of the same decisions[1], Campbell JA held that the applicant lacked standing because she sought to vindicate rights that, if they existed, would have vested in the Official Trustee in Bankruptcy. Campbell JA also held that, for the same reason, the applicant lacked standing in relation to the remaining decision.
[1]Samootin v Shea [2010] NSWCA 371. An application for special leave to appeal from that decision was refused: Samootin v Shea [2011] HCASL 120.
On 20 September 2013, the Court of Appeal (Gleeson JA, with whom McColl and Basten JJA agreed) dismissed the applicant's applications for review of Campbell JA's decision and orders removing the matter into this Court. The applicant's complaint was that Campbell JA had erred in not applying international law. The Court of Appeal held that no error had been shown in Campbell JA's decision and that the applicant did not have standing to bring the applications. The Court of Appeal also held that it did not have the power to remove the matter into this Court.
The applicant now seeks special leave to appeal to this Court. Her application does not identify any error in the Court of Appeal's decision. The Court of Appeal's decision is clearly correct. This application has no reasonable prospects of success. Special leave is refused.
Pursuant to r 41.10.5 we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order dismissing the application.

S.M. Kiefel
19 June 2014 P.A. Keane

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of Alexandra Samootin v Christopher George Shea, the applicant, Alexandra Samootin, sought special leave to appeal against decisions made by the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. These decisions related to numerous proceedings stemming from a property transaction that had been ongoing since 2001. Samootin had previously sought leave to appeal against various decisions made by the Supreme Court of New South Wales in relation to these proceedings. The Court of Appeal dismissed the application for leave to appeal, holding that Samootin lacked standing to bring the applications as the rights she sought to vindicate would have vested in the Official Trustee in Bankruptcy.

The legal issues before the Court were primarily concerned with the applicant's standing to appeal the decisions of the Court of Appeal and whether international law should have been applied in the proceedings. The Court of Appeal had previously held that Samootin lacked standing, a decision that was subsequently upheld in this Court. The Court also needed to determine whether there was an error in the Court of Appeal's decision and whether it had the power to remove the matter into this Court.

The Court found that the Court of Appeal's decision was correct and that there was no error in its proceedings. The Court held that Samootin did not have standing to bring the applications and that the Court of Appeal did not have the power to remove the matter into this Court. The application for special leave to appeal was dismissed as it had no reasonable prospects of success. The Court directed the Registrar to draw up, sign, and seal an order dismissing the application.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

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Legal Principle Established