Beklar and Beklar (No 2)

The applicant, a former client of the wife's solicitor, sought an order to preserve $25,000 pending the determination of his claim for enforcement of a lien over proceeds of litigation to be received by the wife. The court was the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, presided over by Aldridge J.

The primary legal issue was whether to grant an order preserving the sum of $25,000 to secure the applicant's potential lien, contingent on the outcome of his claim against the wife. This involved considering the applicant's entitlement to such a preservation order and the conditions under which it should be made.

Aldridge J reasoned that the applicant's claim for a lien warranted protection. The court made orders for the husband to pay $25,000 into a controlled monies account of the wife's solicitor by 10 August 2013, to be held pending further order. This order was conditional upon the applicant filing an undertaking as to damages within 48 hours and would be of no effect if the husband obtained a stay of the original court orders by 10 August 2013. The parties were granted liberty to apply in relation to these orders, and leave was given to forward consent orders to vary the orders made that day. The matter was stood over for further mention, and costs were reserved.