Jess & Jess (No 9)

The case of Jess & Jess (No 9) involves a dispute between parties represented by legal counsel regarding the disclosure of information in family law proceedings. The matter was heard in the Family Court of Australia, with the central issue being the timing and scope of disclosure in the context of pending appeals. The represented third parties had objected to providing disclosure pending the outcome of two applications for leave to appeal, and they were also protesting about being required to give disclosure in relation to several corporate respondents whose registrations had been deregistered.

The legal issues that the court was required to decide included whether disclosure should proceed in the absence of a resolution of the pending appeals, and if so, to what extent disclosure should be granted. The court also needed to consider the implications of the deregistration of certain companies on the litigation and whether the represented third parties' concerns about the disclosure were justified. The represented third parties argued that without a stay of the orders requiring disclosure, the appeals would be rendered nugatory and they would suffer substantial injustice. They further argued that the balance of convenience favoured granting a stay.

The court found that while the represented third parties' concerns had merit, it was not appropriate to halt the proceedings entirely pending the outcome of the appeals. The court reasoned that the status of the deregistered companies needed to be reviewed and that the relevance of disclosure from the schedule B and schedule C entities needed to be investigated. The court also acknowledged that the complaints about disclosure from the Mr Jess Jnr entities had some merit. Ultimately, the court decided to adjourn the matter to allow for further investigation and to ensure that the proceedings could move forward efficiently.

The court's final orders were that the further hearing of the application in the proceedings be adjourned to 10:00am on 18 September 2023 in the Major Complex Financial Proceedings List. This decision allowed for the investigation of the status of the deregistered companies, the relevance of disclosure from the schedule B and schedule C entities, and the resolution of the pending appeals, without unduly delaying the case.