The Court refused leave to file a writ under O 67 r 5 of the Rules of the Supreme Court 1971 (WA), finding all proposed claims frivolous, vexatious, or an abuse of process. The proposed damages claims were barred by party/witness immunity from suit because they were founded on affidavit evidence filed in judicial proceedings, and the fact that the deponent was also the moving party in ex parte proceedings did not alter that characterisation. The Court held that McDonald v McDonald and Clone v Players require fresh proceedings only to impugn final or perfected orders procured by fraud, not interlocutory orders in extant proceedings, and that commencing a fresh writ to challenge interlocutory orders underpinning a pending contempt motion would be unjustifiably oppressive and bring the administration of justice into disrepute.
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