El Saeid & Masih and Ors

In the matter of *El Saeid & Masih and Ors*, Aldridge J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia considered an application by the respondent husband and a third party, Mr B Masih, to strike out certain paragraphs of the wife's Statement of Claim and to refuse her leave to join Mr Masih and E Pty Limited as parties to the proceedings. The wife sought to join Mr Masih in his various capacities as director of E Pty Limited, executor and/or trustee of the estate of the late Mr F Masih, and trustee of the D Family Trust, and also to join E Pty Limited itself as a party.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the wife's claims against Mr Masih and E Pty Limited, as pleaded in paragraphs 14-26 of her Statement of Claim, were properly brought within the existing proceedings and whether it was appropriate to join these parties. Specifically, the court had to determine if the claims disclosed a cause of action and if the joinder of these parties and the proposed amendments were permissible under the Family Law Rules 2004 (Cth).

Aldridge J reasoned that paragraphs 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the relief sought and paragraphs 14-26 of the Statement of Claim should be struck out as they did not disclose a cause of action against Mr Masih in his personal capacity or against E Pty Limited. The court also refused the wife leave to amend her application to join Mr Masih in his various capacities and E Pty Limited as parties, finding that the proposed joinder and amendments were not appropriate in the context of the family law proceedings. However, the court ordered that E Pty Limited be joined as a party to the proceedings, likely to address issues related to the company's assets or liabilities that were relevant to the overall property settlement.

Consequently, the court ordered that paragraphs 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the relief sought and paragraphs 14-26 of the Statement of Claim be struck out. Leave to amend the application to join Mr Masih in his various capacities was refused. The wife was ordered to pay the costs of the husband and Mr Masih. In contrast, E Pty Limited was ordered to be joined as a party to the proceedings.