Agisaliou and Agisaliou and Ors (No. 2)

In *Agisaliou and Agisaliou and Ors (No. 2)*, Brown J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia considered an application to join parties and restrain proceedings in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The dispute involved the financial affairs of a family trust, with the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court proceedings seeking to be joined as respondents in the Federal Circuit Court and to have their Supreme Court action stayed.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the subject matter of the Supreme Court proceedings fell within the accrued jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit Court, thereby granting it the power to make the orders sought. This involved determining if the Federal Circuit Court had the authority to hear and determine claims that, while not directly arising under federal law, were so connected with a matter that was within federal jurisdiction that it would be convenient to hear them together.

Brown J found that the subject matter of the Supreme Court proceedings did fall within the accrued jurisdiction of the Federal Circuit Court. Consequently, the Court ordered that the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court proceedings be joined as the second, third, and fourth named respondents to the Federal Circuit Court proceedings. Furthermore, these newly joined respondents were restrained from further prosecuting the Supreme Court proceedings until further order. The Court also directed the parties to exchange lists of documents relating to the financial affairs of the family trust and to make those documents available for inspection, and set timelines for the filing of further affidavits and the listing of the proceedings for trial.