The mere filing of an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court in a related case is not, without more, a proper basis for vacating a long-fixed trial date. The critical distinction is between a pending appeal (where there is certainty the point will be addressed and the decision will have retrospective effect) and a mere special leave application (where there is no such certainty). The overriding purpose provisions of the Civil Procedure Act 2005 reinforce the obligation to proceed with hearings on allocated dates.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 22 later cases that cite this judgment.
2 of the 22 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.