Aggio & Jeffrey
[2025] FedCFamC1F 292
•28 April 2025
FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA
(DIVISION 1)
Aggio & Jeffrey [2025] FedCFamC1F 292
File number: SYC 26 of 2023 Judgment of: CAMPTON J Date of judgment: 28 April 2025 Catchwords: FAMILY LAW – PROPERTY – Matter listed for hearing in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) – Where the de facto husband failed to file any trial affidavit evidence including as to his financial circumstances – Where the de facto husband’s application for adjournment of the hearing was refused in Division 2 – Where the proceeding was then transferred to Division 1 on the day the adjournment application was refused for the hearing of final trial – Where the de facto husband appeared at trial without representation – Where the de facto husband during the trial relied upon affidavit evidence adduced by the de facto wife – Where during the trial the parties proposed the entry of consent orders – Justice and equity of proposed consent orders. Legislation: Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) s 90SM
Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth) chapter 6 and chapter 7
Division: Division 1 First Instance Number of paragraphs: 16 Date of hearing: 28 April 2025 Place: Sydney Counsel for the Applicant: Mr May Solicitor for the Applicant: York Law Family Law Specialists The Respondent: Litigant in person ORDERS
SYC 26 of 2023 FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA (DIVISION 1)
BETWEEN: MS AGGIO
Applicant
AND: MR JEFFREY
Respondent
ORDER MADE BY:
CAMPTON J
DATE OF ORDER:
28 APRIL 2025
BY CONSENT THE COURT ORDERS THAT:
1.Within 14 days from the date of orders, the applicant pay to the respondent by way of property adjustment order under s 90SM of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) the sum of $220,000.
2.Except as provided for herein, the applicant be declared the sole, legal and beneficial owner of:
(a)Her interest in B Pty Ltd;
(b)Her interest in C Pty Ltd;
(c)Her interest as appointor/co-appointor of D Family Trust;
(d)Her savings; and
(e)All items of personal property in her possession or of which she is the registered proprietor including motor vehicles, savings, shareholdings and any present or future expectation under a trust.
3.Except as provided for herein, the respondent be declared the sole, legal and beneficial owner of:
(a)His interest in his superannuation fund; and
(b)His savings.
4.These proceedings be removed from the pending cases list.
THE COURT FURTHER ORDERS THAT:
5.Save and except as provided by these orders, all outstanding applications and responses thereto are dismissed.
Note: The form of the order is subject to the entry in the Court’s records.
Note: This copy of the Court’s Reasons for judgment may be subject to review to remedy minor typographical or grammatical errors (r 10.14(b) Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth)), or to record a variation to the order pursuant to r 10.13 Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth).
Part XIVB of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) makes it an offence, except in very limited circumstances, to publish an account of proceedings that identify persons, associated persons, or witnesses involved in family law proceedings.
IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment by this Court under the pseudonym Aggio & Jeffrey has been approved pursuant to subsection 114Q(2) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).
EX TEMPORE REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
CAMPTON J
These are proceedings for the adjustment of property as between Ms Aggio, (“the de facto wife”), and Mr Jeffrey (“the de facto husband”), listed for trial over three days scheduled to commence today in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2). The de facto husband’s application for an adjournment of the trial was dismissed by a judge of Division 2 earlier today. The proceeding was then transferred at lunch today to this Court for the hearing of the three-day trial.
After the commencement of the trial this afternoon in this forum, the parties reached an agreed position as to the adjustment of their property. These reasons are as to the justice and equity of the orders sought by each of the parties as contained in the document entitled “Consent Orders” marked as Exhibit 2.
BACKGROUND
The de facto husband was born in 1989. The de facto wife was born in 1992. They commenced cohabitation in late 2014. There are two children of the de facto relationship, X born in 2016 and Y born in 2019. The parties separated in January 2021.
On 4 January 2023, the de facto wife commenced proceedings in Division 2 for orders as to the parenting of the children of the relationship and as to property adjustment. The de facto husband sought different orders as to parenting and as to property adjustment by way of his Response to Initiating Application filed on 17 February 2023.
On 7 May 2024, final consent parenting orders were made providing for the children to live with the de facto wife and to spend increasing time with the de facto husband.
On 20 September 2024, the Deputy Chief Judge in Division 2 made orders listing the outstanding dispute as to property adjustment for hearing before a judge of Division 2, commencing this morning, with an estimated hearing time of three days. Extensive directions were made as to the preparation of the matter for trial, including that the parties were to file a single consolidated trial affidavit as to their evidence and evidence from other witnesses upon which they intended to rely, together with an updated financial statement on or before 17 March 2025. A direction was made that the parties would not be permitted to rely on earlier affidavits.
THE EVIDENCE RELIED UPON BY EACH PARTY
Affidavits have been filed by the de facto wife of Ms E, a single forensic accounting expert pursuant to ch 7 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth) (“the Rules”) on 1 October 2024 and of Mr F, the ch 7 single real property valuation expert on 22 April 2025. The wife relied on these affidavits at trial.
The de facto wife complied with the orders made as to the filing of affidavit evidence for trial. She filed and relied upon at trial the following affidavits:
·Affidavit of Ms Aggio filed 18 March 2025;
·Affidavit of Ms G filed 18 March 2025;
·Affidavit of Mr H filed 18 March 2025;
·Affidavit of Mr J filed 11 April 2025;
·Affidavit of Ms G filed 17 April 2025; and
·Affidavit of Ms G filed 28 April 2025.
On 21 January 2025, the solicitors for the de facto husband ceased to act on his behalf. The de facto husband did not file any affidavit material in compliance with the trial directions. At trial he did not adduce evidence from himself in the case and did not rely on a financial statement. For the purposes of the trial, the de facto husband relied upon the affidavit evidence identified earlier in these reasons, as filed by the de facto wife.
On 22 April 2025, the de facto wife filed a balance sheet, absent input from the de facto husband. That document records the value of the parties’ net total assets including superannuation and addbacks as $2,102,900. The de facto wife’s contended value of the de facto husband’s property including superannuation and addbacks was $937,600. Relevantly, the wife contended, by way of notional add back, the sum of $200,000 was distributed to each of the de facto husband and the de facto wife pursuant to orders made on 1 December 2023.
THE RELIEF SOUGHT BY EACH PARTY AT TRIAL
The primary position of the de facto wife at trial, by way of her Amended Initiating Application filed on 9 April 2025, was that there was no warrant to further adjust property between the parties. She sought that any relief agitated by the de facto husband for the adjustment of property be dismissed.
At the commencement of the trial today, the de facto husband successfully obtained, over objection, leave to amend the relief he sought by way of the adjustment of property pursuant to s 90SM of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). The de facto husband sought that the de facto wife be ordered to pay to him the sum of $600,000 within 14 days.
CONSIDERATION
The de facto wife, for the purposes of the trial, made extensive complaints as to the de facto husband's failure to comply with his obligations to disclose his relevant financial circumstances in compliance with ch 6 of the Rules. The de facto husband put those contentions into issue.
Late today, after the trial has commenced but before the taking of any oral evidence or submissions, the parties reached agreement whereby, in adjusting their property, the de facto wife will pay to the de facto husband a sum of $220,000. The terms of that agreement are embodied in Exhibit 2. The terms otherwise provide for each of the parties to retain the property in their respective possession or control.
I have read the wife’s primary affidavit and conducted a cursory reading of the affidavit material of her supporting witnesses. I have read the affidavits of the ch 7 single experts.
In all the circumstances, having regard to the consent of the parties and the evidence I have read, I am satisfied that the orders as to adjustment of property between the de facto husband and the de facto wife as contained in Exhibit 2 are just and equitable. Consent orders will be made in terms of Exhibit 2.
I certify that the preceding sixteen (16) numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Ex Tempore Reasons for Judgment of the Honourable Justice Campton. Associate:
Dated: 7 May 2025
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