Pohl v Hallett-Shiels [2024] NSWDC 342

District Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Pohl v Hallett-Shiels [2024] NSWDC 342 Hearing dates: 10-11 April 2024 Date of orders: 11 April 2024 Decision date: 11 April 2024 Jurisdiction: Civil Before: Neilson DCJ Decision: Verdict and judgment for the defendant against the plaintiff. Catchwords: Claim for debt – Claim for some debt made in proceedings in the Family Court of Australia in proceedings in which Plaintiff intervened and Defendant was a party – Debt claimed in Family Court proceedings was repaid or compromised – No evidence of additional outstanding monies. Legislation Cited: Family Law Act (1975) (Cth) Cases Cited: Nil. Texts Cited: Nil. Category: Principal judgment Parties: Plaintiff – Steven Pohl Defendant – Carolyn Hallett-Shiels Representation: Counsel: Plaintiff – Self-Represented. Defendant – Bateman, M.

Solicitors: Plaintiff – Self-Represented. Defendant – Self-Represented. File Number(s): 2022/00358763 Publication restriction: Nil.

Judgment 1. HIS HONOUR: The plaintiff, Mr Steven Pohl, is unrepresented. He filed a Statement of Claim in this Court on 28 November 2022. In it, he claimed $191,371 plus interest of $101,432. Once the filing fees and service fees were added to those claims, the total claimed in the Statement of Claim was $293,988. 2. The pleading contained in the Statement of Claim was clearly not made by anybody who knew how to plead as required by the Rules of Court. However, I have ascertained from the 29 paragraphs contained in the Statement of Claim that the following paragraphs are relevant. They are these: "1. I am the plaintiff, Steven Pohl, who is living in Camden, New South Wales, and loaned [sic] money to the defendant. 3. The defendant was first loaned money on 25-11-2020 when her debit card was declined. 5. Money was loaned up until the early part of January 2013. 6. This happened on several occasions, and then she started asking for more loans due to her financial situation. 11. There is a signed agreement between the parties in dispute. 17. The first letter of demand was sent in 2018 by C.A. Williams, a solicitor based in Camden. 18. The last letter of demand was sent on 24 February 2022 and no response has been received to date. 29. The plaintiff claims against the defendant (a) the total debt in the sum of $191,371. (b) interest on the above amount should be based on the current interest rate table noted online NSW Local Court. (c) the interest rate that should be applied (d) the fees and costs of this claim." 1. The defendant is a solicitor. She acts on her own behalf. However, for the purpose of the hearing that has been conducted before me, she retained counsel. 2. A defence passed under the seal of the Court on 10 January 2023, but that ought not to have occurred as the defence was not signed by the defendant as a solicitor and the affidavit verifying the defence was not executed at all. Nevertheless, the matter has remained in the list of this Court until it was set down for hearing by the Judicial Registrar. 3. The plaintiff has filed and served but one affidavit, an affidavit sworn on 5 October 2023 and filed on 6 October 2023. The plaintiff sought to tender another document which was not annexed to any affidavit and had not been served and the tender of that document was objected to and rejected as it needed to be proved by affidavit.