Appeal from orders of a Judicial Registrar granting leave to amend the plaintiff’s statement of claim
Appeals from Judicial Registrar
Hearing de novo
Quick Take
1An appeal from a Judicial Registrar under r 84.05 of the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2025 is a hearing de novo, determined on the evidence before the judge without being fettered by the Judicial Registrar's decision, and the appellant need not demonstrate error.
2Pleading verbatim terms of multiple interrelated finance and transaction documents in a guarantee claim is orthodox and appropriate where necessary to expose how the defendant's liability arises, even if it introduces some complexity or apparent repetition, provided the pleading as a whole gives sufficient notice of the claim.
3Rule 63.17 operates according to its terms such that costs of and occasioned by a pleading amendment and the leave application are each party's costs in the proceeding unless the court otherwise orders; on the facts, no basis existed to depart from the default position.
