Kennedy v Manns [2006] NSWSC 726

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Kennedy v Manns [2006] NSWSC 726

HEARING DATE(S) : 17 and 18 July 2006

JUDGMENT DATE : 28 September 2006

JURISDICTION : Equity Division

JUDGMENT OF : Associate Justice Macready at 1

CATCHWORDS : Family Law. Application for property adjustment under Property (Relationships) Act 1984. Whether global or asset by asset approach should be adopted. Date of separation used for adjustment purposes

PARTIES : Carolyne Gaye Kennedy v Paul Robert Manns

FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 2973 of 2005

COUNSEL : G. Brzostowski SC for plaintiff R. Harper for defendant

SOLICITORS : Walsh & Blair for plaintiff Commins Hendriks for defendant

- 1 - IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES EQUITY DIVISION

Associate Justice Macready

Thursday 28 September 2006

2973 of 2005 Carolyne Gaye Kennedy v Paul Robert Manns JUDGMENT

1 His Honour: This is an application for adjustment of property interests under section 20 of the Property Relationships Act 1984 (NSW). The parties had two children from their relationship and each party had children from a previous marriage. Background facts 2 The plaintiff was born on 11 July 1954 and the defendant on 21 December 1954.

3 The plaintiff's first child, by a prior marriage, Elizabeth Bevan, was born on 24 August 1973 and her second child, Robert Bevan, was born on 31 January 1975. Her third child, by a prior relationship, Michael Richard Kennedy, was born on 27 June 1989. On 23 March 1990 the plaintiff's fourth child, David John Kennedy, was born. 4 On 12 October 1976 the defendant's first child, by a prior marriage, Paula, was born. His second child, Melissa, was born on 24 April 1979.

5 In the early 1980s the defendant, with the assistance and tuition of his father, an experienced beekeeper, started his own beekeeping business while at the same time maintaining employment as a motor mechanic.