Supreme Court Judge, Justice Keogh today handed down a decision to summarily dismiss litigation brought by I Cook Foods and Ian Cook against Greater Dandenong City Council and two council officers, as an abuse of process.
His Honour Justice Keogh found that this litigation had already been brought before and withdrawn, and that to bring it again was an unreasonable waste of court resources and unfairly oppressive to Council and the other parties. Ian Cook and I Cook Foods have been ordered to pay Council’s and the other parties’ costs of the proceeding.
In his Judgment, Justice Keogh found that “Allowing the proceeding to continue was “likely to give rise to the perception that the administration of justice in inefficient, careless of costs and profligate in its application of public moneys” and “the bringing of justice into disrepute”.
I Cook Foods brought an action against Council several years ago and ultimately withdrew it at the courtroom door. Ian Cook and I Cook Foods tried to bring substantially the same action again in 2023, and today’s decision confirmed this was an abuse of process.
A Council spokesperson said, “This is a welcome and long-awaited decision. We have always denied all allegations of wrongdoing made by I Cook Foods and Ian Cook. Council and our officers have only ever acted in the best interests of public safety.
There has never been a finding of fault or wrongdoing by this Council or our officers, through two Supreme Court actions, police enquiries, an IBAC investigation and Ombudsman enquiries. In more than six years, there has never been a finding that our officers did anything wrong.
This Council and our officers have been unfairly hounded for years. The judge’s comments acknowledge the strain of these latest proceedings, and how it would have been compounded by media reporting.
An extraordinary and unjustified public relations and legal campaign has been waged against this Council. Justice Keogh’s decision today reflects that this latest legal action was unreasonable and an abuse of process. We hope the matter has finally drawn to a close.”