Haggarty v Wood

The case of Haggarty v Wood involved the plaintiff, Haggarty, challenging the validity of wills made by the deceased, which distributed his estate to the defendant, Wood. The dispute centred on whether Haggarty had sufficiently pleaded the material facts constituting testamentary undue influence and a testamentary contract in his amended statement of claim. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of Queensland.

The legal issues that the court had to decide included whether Haggarty had adequately pleaded the material facts of testamentary undue influence and testamentary contract in his amended statement of claim. Specifically, the court needed to determine if Haggarty's allegations were sufficient to establish that Wood had exerted undue influence over the deceased in the making of the wills and if there was a testamentary contract between the deceased and his wife regarding the distribution of property from a company wholly owned by the deceased.

The court found that Haggarty had not sufficiently pleaded the material facts required to establish testamentary undue influence. The court held that there was no evidence of any agreement not to revoke the wills or other consideration that would support a claim of a testamentary contract. The court concluded that the amended statement of claim did not provide sufficient details to substantiate the claims made. Consequently, the court ordered that the amended statement of claim be struck out, and required Haggarty to file a further amended statement of claim by a specified date. Additionally, the court ordered that Haggarty pay the defendant's costs of the application.