The Court granted an extension of time of approximately six and a half months to commence judicial review proceedings under Order 56, finding special circumstances existed where the plaintiff had commenced a statutory appeal within time on identical grounds, the delay was caused by her solicitor's mistaken belief about the correct procedural vehicle, she had an arguable case on the jurisdictional question (whether the Magistrates' Court lacked jurisdiction because the dispute was a 'retail tenancy dispute' under s 81 of the Retail Leases Act 2003 (Vic)), and she would be prejudiced if the extension were refused. The Court left open for trial whether the judicial review proceeding constituted an abuse of process given the parallel statutory appeal, and whether the Magistrates' Court in fact lacked jurisdiction.
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