BARSTOW & BARSTOW & ORS

In the matter of *Barstow & Barstow & Ors*, heard before Judge Kari, the applicant husband sought discovery orders against the respondent wife in family law proceedings. The wife, in turn, sought an injunction to prevent the liquidator of a company, of which the husband was a director, from dealing with real property owned by that company as trustee of a family trust. The wife also sought the transfer of the proceedings to the Family Court of Australia. The husband had entered bankruptcy, and the company had been placed into liquidation in December 2019.

The court was required to determine whether to grant the husband's application for discovery, the wife's application for an injunction against the liquidator, and the wife's application for the transfer of the proceedings. Central to these issues was the status of the real property and the court's jurisdiction to make orders concerning it, particularly in light of the husband's bankruptcy and the company's liquidation.

Judge Kari dismissed the husband's application for discovery and several of the wife's applications, including her application for transfer of the proceedings. However, the court granted an injunction restraining the third respondent, the liquidator, from dealing with the properties located at B1 Street, Suburb C and B2 Street, Suburb C in South Australia without leave of the court. This outcome suggests the court found grounds to preserve the status quo of the disputed property pending further determination, while declining to proceed with the broader property adjustment claims or the transfer of jurisdiction.