Estate Kouvakas; Lucas v Konakas [2014] NSWSC 786

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Estate Kouvakas; Lucas v Konakas [2014] NSWSC 786 Hearing dates: 14 and 15 April 2014; 12 May 2014 Decision date: 16 July 2014 Jurisdiction: Equity Division - Probate List Before: Lindsay J Decision: Orders made for summary disposal of an application for an order that a grant of administration with the will attached be revoked Catchwords: SUCCESSION - Wills, Probate and Administration -Probate and Letters of Administration - Alteration and Revocation of Grants - Application to revoke grant of administration in common form - Plaintiff acquiesced in grant of administration in favour of defendant - Whether in the interests of the due administration of justice and of the estate to revoke grant - Court's power to revoke grant is discretionary - Revocation proceedings an abuse of process - Application summarily dismissed

SUCCESSION -Wills, Probate and Administration - Probate and Letters of Administration - Practice - New South Wales -Form of probate and letters of administration - Distinction between grant in common form and grant in solemn form - Principles governing revocation of grants Legislation Cited: Australian Courts Act 1828, ss 2, 24 Civil Procedure Act 2005 NSW, ss 56-60, 90 Family Provision Act 1982 NSW Judicature Acts1873 and 1875 (UK) Probate Act 1890 NSW Probate and Administration Act 1898 NSW, ss 150, 41A, 40D, 81, 90, 91 Succession Act 2006 NSW, ss 54, 58, 59, 91 Supreme Court Rules 1970 NSW, Part 78 Testator's Family Maintenance and Guardianship of Infants Act 1916 NSW Uniform Civil Procedure Act Rules, r 13.4, r 36.1 Wills Act 1837 (UK) Wills Probate and Administration Act 1898 NSW Cases Cited: Ahmed v Chowdhury [2012] NSWSC 1452 at [26]-[51 Ajili v Dinica-Popp; The Estate of Mohamed Salah Ajili (Windeyer J, unrep, 19 December 1995) BC 9506827 at 16 Allen v McPherson (1847) 1 HLC 191; 9 ER 727 AON Risk Services Australia Ltd v Australian National University (2009) 239 CLR 175; at 210 [90] - 215[103] and 217[112]-[113] Baskcomb v Harrison (1849) 2 Rob Ecc 118 at 121-122; 163 ER 1262 at 1263-1264 Bates v Messner (1967) 67 SR (NSW) 187 at 189 and 191-192; 86 WN (Pt 2) NSW 35 at 39-40 Bath v British and Malayan Trustees Limited (1969) 90 WN (Pt 1) (NSW) 44 at 49 at [17]-[20] Beardsley v Beardsley [1899] 1 QB 746 Bell v Armstrong (1822) 1 Add 365 at 375-376; 162 ER 129 at 132-133 Birch v Birch [1902] p130 at 138-139 Blair v Curran (1939) 62 CLR 465 at 531-533 Blake v Knight (1843) 3 Curt 547 at 561 and 564; 163 ER 821 at 826 Boland v Nahkle; Re Estate of Talbot (Powell J, unrep, 6 April 1992) BC9203240 at 4-5 Bowler v Bowler (unrep, 18 December 1989) BC 8901301 at 36; 39 Bramston v Morris; Estate of Estate of Sini Sophia Murray (aka Sini Sophia Vecht) (Powell J, unrep, 20 August 1993) BC 930 3644 at 19-20; 20 and 23; 24-25; 25-26 Bridgewater v Leahy (1998) 194 CLR 457 at 493-494 Bull v Fulton (1942) 66 CLR 295 at 337 Caldor v Public Trustee [2003] NSWCA 187 at [5], [6] Carr v Finance Corporation of Australia Limited [No 1] (1981) 147 CLR 247 at 248 and 253-254 Dickman v Holley [2013] NSWSC 18 at [136] per White J; [135] Edwards v Boyd (1958) 75 WN (NSW) 525 at 527-528 Estate Wight; Wight v Robinson [2013] NSWSC 1229 at [17]-[20] Executor Trustee Australia Ltd v Henderson [2006] SASC 82 at [30]; Ex parte Keegan (1907) 7 SR (NSW) 565 at 566 Firns v Firns; Estate of Firns [2000] NSWSC 396 at [12] per Young J Ex Parte King (1861) Legge 1307 Gertsch v Roberts; The Estate of Gertsch (1993) 35 NSWLR 631 at 634 B-C Goods of William Loveday [1900] P 154 at 156; Bath v British and Malayan Trustees Limited (1969) 90 WN (Pt 1) (NSW) 44 at 49 Gornall v Mason (1887) 12 PD 142 Haines v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1995) 43 NSWLR 404 at 414 Hall v Nominal Defendant (117 CLR 423 at 439-440 and 443 Hamilton v Hamilton (1913) 46 WN (NSW) 46 Henderson v Henderson (1843) 3 Hare 100 at 115; 67 ER 313 at 319 Hewson v Shelley [1914] 2 Ch 13 at 27, 29, 30, 36 and 44 Hoffman v Norris and White (1805) 2 Phil. Ecc 230; 161 ER 1129 note (b) Hughes v Public Trustee (unrep, NSWCA 19 August 1980) In the Goods of Watts (1837) 1 Curt 594 at 595; 163 ER 208 at 208 In the Will of George Lamont (1881) 7 VLR (IP&M) 86 at 93 and 98 In the Will of Mary Ann Clarke (1922) 22 SR (NSW) 228 In the Will of Elizabeth O'Driscoll (1929) 29 SR (NSW) 559 at 561 In re Barraclough, deceased [1967] P 1 at 11 In Re Devoy; Fitzgerald v Fitzgerald [1943] St R Qd 137 at 145-146 In re Emery [1923] p 184 at 187 In Re Goode (1890) 11 NSWR (Eq) 281 at 283; 285-286, 286-297 and 287-288 In Re Kuhl; Kuhl v Liebcheschel [1933] SASR 394 at 398 In the Estate of Clarence Gilbert Alcorn (Powell J, unrep, 9 August 1991) BC 9101691 at 6 In the Estate of Kirs (1990) 55 SASR 61 at 68 In the Estate of Langton, decd [1964] P 163 at 171, 173, 175, 179, 181 In the Estate of Muirhead [1971] p 263 at 265-266 and 267-268 Kozak v Berwecki [2008] NSWSC 39 at [3]; and (c) Licul v Corney (1976) 180 CLR 213 at 220 and 225 Mavrideros v Mack (1998) 45 NSWLR 80 at 1-7F-108C McKerracher v McKerracher [2011] NSWSC 1288 at [10]-[14]. Merryweather v Turner (1844) 3 Curt. 802; 163 ER 907 at 912 Migneault v Malo (1872) LR 4 PC 123 at 135 Mohan v Broughton [1900] P56 at 57 Moran v Place [1896] P214 at 216-217 and 219-220 Morgan v MacRae [2001] NSWSC 1017 at [21] Mortimer v David; Estate Dawn Audrey Day Deceased [2005] NSWSC 1166 at [28] Murakami v Murakami [2005] NSWSC 953 at [29]-[33]) Neilson v The Public Trustee; Estate of Ellen Letitia Neilson (Powell J, unrep, 8 May 1992) BC 920 1888 at 14-15; 15 and 18 Newell and King v Weeks (1814) 2 Phil. Ecc 224 at 230-234; 161 ER 1126 at 1129-1130) Osborne v Smith (1960) 105 CLR 153 at 158-159 Palin v Ponting [1930] P 185 at 188 Perpetual Trustee Co Limited v Satchell (1939) 39 SR (NSW) 335 at 345-347; 56 WN (NSW) 139 at 142 Pettit v Mowder [1957] St R Qd 493 at 494 and 497 Phillpot v Olney [2004] NSWSC 592 at [7]. Port of Melbourne Authority v Anshun Pty Limited (1981) 147 CLR 589 at 598-604 Poulton v Adjustable Cover and Boiler Block Company [1908] 2 Ch 430 at 433 Profilio v Profilio [1999] NSWSC 657 at [33]-[34] Public Trustee v Guardian, Trust and Executor's Company of New Zealand Limited [1939] NZLR 613 at 643 Public Trustee v Mullane; Estate of Mullane (Powell J, unrep, 12 June 1992) BC 9201821 at 5 Re Devoy; Fitzgerald v Fitzgerald [1943] St R Qd 137 at 145-146 Re Dowling; sub-nom NSW Trustee & Guardian v Crossley [2013] NSWSC 1040 at [23]; [24] per Young AJ; [25] Re Eger; Heilprin v Eger (Powell J, unrep, 4 February 1985) BC 8500997 at 72-74 Re Estate of Fuld, Deceased [1965] P405 at 409F-411B Re Fuld [1965] P 405 at 409F-411B Re Estate Gowing; Application for Executor's Commission [2014] NSWSC 247 at [33]-[34] and [41]-[43] Re Estate Pierbon, Deceased [2014] NSWSC 387 at [44]-[50] and [62]-[71] Re Estate of Talbot (Powell J, unrep, 6 April 1992) BC 9203240 at 4 Re Izett [1982] 2 NZLR 425 at 427-429 Re West [1948] WN 432 Reichel v Magrath (1889) 14 App Cas 665 at 668 Riccardi v Riccardi [2013] NSWSC 1655 at [8]-[12] Richardson v Rearden [2006] NSWSC 1252 [5] and [21]; [16] Ridge v Rowden; Estate of Dowling (Santow J, unrep, 10 April 1996) BC 9601342 at 39-46 Rippon v Chilcotin Pty Limited (2001) 53 NSWLR 198 Romascu v Manolache [2011] NSWSC 1362 at [179]; [180]-[181]; [176] The Estate of Erminia Agnes Rogers v Rogers [2009] WASC 358 at [23] The Public Trustee v Mullane; The Estate of RWC Mullane (Powell J, unrep, 12 June 1992) BC 9201821 at 4-5 Smith v Smith, Estate of Smith [2007] NSWSC 116 at [31]-[34], esp at [34] Stanley v Stanley [2000] NSWSC 1133 at [8]-[11] and [33]-[34] Swalwell v Swalwell (Needham J, unrep, 15 July 1988 Taylor v Taylor (1979) 143 CLR 1 at 4-5, 7-8, 20, 22 Telfer v Telfer [2014] NSWCA 186 at [5] The Estate of Erminia Agnes Rogers v Rogers [2009] WASC 358 at [23] Tobin v Ezekiel [2012] NSWCA 285 at [5]-[9]; [8] Tsagouris v Bellairs [2010] SASC 147; 5 ASTLR 403 at [35]-[36]; 39 Union Bank of Australia v Harrison, Jones and Devlin Limited (1910) 11 CLR 492 at 504-506 Upton v Downie [2007] NSWSC 1095 at [44]-[56] Vadasz v Pioneer Concrete (SA) Pty Limited (1995) 184 CLR 102 at 113-114 Virginie-Pitel v Campbell [2010] NSWSC 1440 at [37] Walton v Gardiner (1993) 177 CLR 378 at 392-393 Wheatley v Edgar [2003] WASC 118; 4 ASTLR 1 at [22]-[24]; [24] and [26] Williams v Spautz (1992) 174 CLR 509 at 518-519 and 522 Willis v Earl Beauchamp (1886) LR 11 PD 59 at 61, 62, 63, 64 and 65 Winter v Crichton; Estate of Galieh (1991) 23 NSWLR 116 at 121C-122G Worth v Clasohm (1952) 86 CLR 439 at 452-453 Wytcherley v Andrews (1871) LR2 PD327 at 329 Young v Holloway [1895] P 87 at 89; 90 Texts Cited: AWB Simpson, Biographical Dictionary of the Common Law (Butterworths, London, 1984), pp 89-90 AWB Simpson, "The Rise and Fall of the Legal Treatise: Legal Principles and the Forms of Legal Literature" (1981) University of Chicago Law Review 632, reprinted in AWB Simpson, Legal Theory and Legal History: Essays on the Common Law (Hambledon Press, London, 1987), c 12 CH Mortimer, The Law and Practice of the Probate Division of the High Court of Justice (Sweet & Maxwell, London CJ Rowland in R Baxt and AP Moore (ed), An Annual Survey of Australian Law, 1992 (Adelaide Law Review Association, 1993), pp 464-465 CR Chapman, Ecclesiastical Courts, Their Officials and Their Records (Lochin Publishing, Dursley, England, 1992), pp 48-51 EV Williams, Treatise of the Law of Executors and Administrators (1st ed, 1832; 14th ed, 1960), Part 1 Book IV, Section III in the 1st edition FR Jordan's Law School Notes: Administration of the Estates of Deceased Persons (1st ed, 1935; 2nd ed, 1940; 3rd ed, 1948) a supplement to Chapters on Equity in New South Wales (2nd ed, 1921; 6th ed, 1947 GL Certoma, Law of Succession in New South Wales (Law Book Co, Sydney, 4th ed, 2010), paragraph [14.270], pp 274-275 GS Geddes, CJ Rowland and P Studdert, Wills, Probate and Administration Law in New South Wales (LBC, Sydney, 1996), paras [40.67]-[40.68] Henry Swinburne, A Brief Treatise of Testaments and Last Wills (1st ed, 1590; 7th ed, 1803) Part 6, Section 14, either directly or through John Godolphin, The Orphan's Legacy, A Testamentary Abridgement, in Three Parts. I. Of Last Wills and Testaments. II. Of Executors and Administrators. III. Of Legacies and Devises (1st ed, 1673; 4th ed, 1701), Part 1, Chapter 20, Section 4 Jarman on Wills 1st ed, 1844 JH Baker, An Introduction to English Legal History (Butterworths Lexis Nexis, London, 4th ed, 2002), pp 126-132 and 386-387 JM Bennett, A History of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (Law Book Co, Sydney, 1974), c 8, esp pp 133 and 139-141; p 293 n 2 JM Bennett, The "Ecclesiastical" Jurisdiction exercised in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, 1824-1890 (Sydney Law School, Research Paper, 1967 Professor Alex C Castles An Australian Legal History (Law Book Co, Sydney, 1982), at pp 4-14 LG Handler and R Neal, Mason and Handler Succession Law and Practice New South Wales at [1181.2] Matthew Bacon, A New Abridgement of the Law (1st ed, 1735-1766; 7th ed, 1832) at pp 464-466 of Volume 3 of the 7th (1832) edition. Mortimer on Probate, 1st ed, 1911. R Baxt and G Kewley, An Annual Survey of Australian Law, 1987 (Law Book Co, Sydney, 1988), pp 316-317 R Hastings and G Weir, Probate Law and Practice (Law Book Co, 2nd ed, 1948) at p 6, Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England (1st ed, 1765-1769) vol 1, pp 106-107 RF Croucher and P Vines, Succession : Families, Property and Death; Text and Cases (Lexis Nexis Butterworths, Australia, 3rd ed, 2009), para [16.45], p 722 Richard Burn, The Ecclesiastical Law (1st ed, 1760; 8th ed, 1824; 9th ed, 1844) at pp 315-316 in the 9th edition. The Ecclesiastical Law, 1824 (8th edition) and 1844 (9th edition) Tristram and Coote's Probate Practice, 1st ed, 1858 WG Walker, A Compendium of the Law Relating to Executors and Administrators (1st ed, 1880; 6th ed, 1926) at pp 28-29 in the 1st edition and pp 36-37 in the 6th edition WS Holdsworth, A History of English Law, vol 1 (7th ed revised), pp 614-615 and 625-630 Williams on Executors and Administrators, 1832 (1st ed), 1838 (2nd ed) and 1841 (3rd ed) Young, Croft & Smith, On Equity (Law Book Co, Sydney, 2009), paragraph [5.520] Category: Principal judgment Parties: Nicholas Lucas (Plaintiff) Yvonne Trakimas (Applicant for joinder as a plaintiff) Diana Konakas (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: CP Locke (Plaintiff and Applicant for joinder as a plaintiff) P Lowson (Defendant) Solicitors: AE Dunne (Plaintiff and Applicant for joinder as a plaintiff) Konstan Lawyers (Defendant) File Number(s): 2013/00322211