Indjic v Stojanovic [2020] NSWSC 470

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Indjic v Stojanovic [2020] NSWSC 470 Hearing dates: 17 – 18 February 2020 Date of orders: 30 April 2020 Decision date: 30 April 2020 Jurisdiction: Equity Before: Hallen J Decision: Orders that the Plaintiff's Summons be dismissed with costs. Catchwords: CIVIL PROCEDURE – Representation – Unrepresented litigant – Plaintiff refused to obtain legal assistance – Responsibility of the court to ensure fair hearing

SUCCESSION – Claim for family provision order by Plaintiff who asserts she was a person with whom the deceased was living in a de facto relationship at the time of the deceased's death – No reliance on any other category of eligibility until raised at the hearing – Then asserted that Plaintiff was a person who was, at any particular time, wholly or partly dependent on the deceased, and who was, at that particular time or at any other time, a member of the household of which the deceased was a member, and subsequently, that she was a person with whom the deceased person was living in a close personal relationship at the time of the deceased person's death – No reference to factors warranting the making of the application until submissions served on second day of the hearing – Whether to permit Plaintiff to rely upon other grounds of eligibility – Defendant denies Plaintiff was an eligible person within any category of eligibility – Whether factors which warrant the making of the Plaintiff's application – In any event, Defendant submits that no provision should be made for the Plaintiff and that her Summons should be dismissed. Legislation Cited: Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), ss 69, 140 Family Provision Act 1982 (NSW) Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW), s 21C Probate and Administration Act 1898 (NSW), s 86 Property (Relationships) Act 1984 (NSW), s 4 Succession Act 2006 (NSW), ss 3, 57, 58, 59, 60, 63, 64, 84, 88, 99, Ch 3 Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), r 7.1 Cases Cited: Antoun v R (2006) 80 ALJR 497; [2006] HCA 2 Armagas Ltd v Mundogas S.A. 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