Estate Moran; Teasel v Hooke (No 2) [2015] NSWSC 88

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Estate Moran; Teasel v Hooke (No 2) [2015] NSWSC 88 Hearing dates: 16 February 2015 Date of orders: 16 February 2015 Decision date: 16 February 2015 Jurisdiction: Equity Division - Probate List Before: Lindsay J Decision: Confirmation of order for defendant to pay costs of unsuccessfully opposed application for admission of an informal will to probate Catchwords: SUCCESSION – Wills, Probate and Administration – Probate and letters of administration – Contested application for admission of informal will to probate - Costs – General principles – Costs ordinarily follow event, subject to established exceptions in probate cases – Costs remain in discretion of court – Where plaintiff and defendant, as only interested parties, engage in ordinary adversarial litigation, appropriate order may be for costs to follow event rather than be paid out of deceased estate. Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 NSW, s 98 Succession Act 2006 NSW, s 8 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 NSW, r 42.1 Cases Cited: Bannister v Perpetual Trustee Co Limited; Estate of Mascot Zita Blake deceased [2008] NSWSC 1283 at [29]-[30] Bell v Crewes [2011] NSWSC 1159 at [61] - [70]. Re Eger; Heilprin v Eger (4 February 1985, Powell J, unrep) Texts Cited: Mason and Handler, Succession Law and Practice (NSW), para [13,001] Category: Procedural and other rulings Parties: Plaintiff/Cross Defendant: Jessica Leigh Teasel Defendant/Cross Claimant: Alistair-John Mark Hooke Representation: Counsel: Plaintiff/Cross Defendant: J McIntosh Defendant/Cross Claimant: L Ellison