Cirillo & Cirillo (No. 3)

[2021] FamCA 572

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Cirillo & Cirillo (No. 3) [2021] FamCA 572

File number(s):

SYC 4192 of 2020

Judgment of:

HARPER J

Date of judgment:

9 August 2021

Catchwords:

FAMILY LAW – INTERIM SPOUSAL MAINTENANCE AND LITIGATION FUNDING – Where enormous property pool and financial resources – Where husband concedes wife’s entitlement to partial property settlement and litigation – Where husband contends assets subject to debt financing arrangements which prevent payment to the wife at present – where evidence that husband has access to significant financial resources in Australia and Country H application granted.

Legislation:

Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) ss 79 and 117

Cases cited:

Bing & Bing (2007) FLC 93-318

Strahan & Strahan (interim property orders) (2011) FLC 93-466

Number of paragraphs:

35

Date of hearing:

28 May 2021

Place:

Sydney

Counsel for the Applicant:

Mr Campton SC

Solicitor for the Applicant:

Marsdens Law Group

Counsel for the Respondents:

Mr Todd

Solicitor for the Respondents:

Boyce Family Law & Mediation

ORDERS

SYC 4192 of 2020

BETWEEN:

MS CIRILLO

Applicant

AND:

MR CIRILLO

First Respondent

MR BIRD

Second Respondent

MR TOBLER

Third Respondent

ORDER MADE BY:	HARPER J
DATE OF ORDER:	9 AUGUST 2021

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

1.That within Twenty-One (21) days from the date of these Orders:

(a)Pursuant to Section 79 and Section 80(1) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), and pending further order, the Husband pay or cause to be paid to the Wife a sum of $1,000,000.00 by way of partial property settlement; and

(b)Pursuant to Section 117 of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), the Husband pay or cause to be paid a sum of $500,000.00 into the trust account of the solicitors for the Wife, to be applied to her legal costs and disbursements in connection with these proceedings.

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 17.02A(b) of the Family Law Rules 2004 (Cth)), or to record a variation to the order pursuant to 17.02 Family Law Rules 2004 (Cth).

IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment by this Court under the pseudonym Cirillo & Cirillo has been approved by the Chief Justice pursuant to s 121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

HARPER J:

1. These are property settlement proceedings after a final separation between the parties on 22 June 2020 after 45 years of marriage.

2. Ms Cirillo is the Applicant Wife (“the wife”). She is currently 69 years old. Mr Cirillo is the Respondent Husband (“the husband”). He is currently 74 years old.

3. According to the Wife’s Further Amended Initiating Application filed 6 November 2020 and the Husband’s Amended Response filed 7 January 2021, it is common ground that the parties agree on an equal division of the property pool. There is however a dispute about which party should retain RR Street,…