Alexakis v Masters [2021] NSWSC 158

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Alexakis v Masters [2021] NSWSC 158 Hearing dates: 5 February 2021 Date of orders: 1 March 2021 Decision date: 01 March 2021 Jurisdiction: Equity Before: Slattery J Decision: Leave granted to file second cross-claim. Catchwords: PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – validity of wills – suspicious circumstances rule – undue influence alleged – suspicious circumstances, allegation of undue influence in the execution of the two 2017 wills - application to file second cross claim raising issues of equitable undue influence and have all issues tried together – overlapping issues – consideration of operation of undue influence in probate and equity - whether leave to file the second cross-claim should be granted or whether the second cross-claim should be determined separately. Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005, ss 56, 57 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005, rr 7.10(2)(a), 28.5 Cases Cited: Blendell v Byrne & Ors; Estate of Noeline Blendell [2019] NSWSC 583 Boyce v Bunce [2015] NSWSC 1924 Boyce v Rossborough; Craig v Lamoureux [1920] AC 349 Bridgewater v Leahy (1998) 194 CLR 457 Calokerinos, Executor of the Estate of the late George Sclavos v Yesilhat; Yesilhat v Calokerinos, Executor of the Estate of the late George Sclavos [2017] NSWSC 666 Mekhail v Hana; Mekail v Hana; In the Estate of Nadia Mekhail (No 3) [2018] NSWSC 1452 Stojic v Stojic [2018] NSWCA 28 Stojic v Stojic [2018] NSWSC 723 The Estate of Stanislaw Budniak; NSW Trustee & Guardian v Budniak [2015] NSWSC 934 Trustee for the Salvation Army (NSW) Property Trust t/as the Salvation Army v Becker (2007) 14 BPR 26,867; [2007] NSWCA 136 Winter v Crichton; Estate of Galieh (1991) 23 NSWLR 116 Category: Procedural rulings Parties: Plaintiff/First Cross-Defendant: Dr Peter Alexakis First Defendant: Gary Robert Masters Second Defendant/Cross-Claimant: Frank Camilleri Second Cross-Defendant: Hildegard Schwanke Third Cross-Defendant: Irmgard (Marianne) Schwanke Representation: Counsel: Plaintiff/First Cross-Defendant: L. Ellison SC Second Defendant/Fourth Cross-Defendant: V. Bedrossian SC, L. Reeves Second and Third Cross-Defendants: J. Brown