Kardamov and Kardamov and Anor

In *Kardamov & Kardamov and Anor* [2014] FamCA 103, the Family Court of Australia considered an application by a maternal grandmother for leave to file an application concerning parenting orders for her grandchildren. The grandmother, Ms Kardamov Snr, sought leave to commence new parenting proceedings, having previously had her own application for parenting orders dismissed by Justice Flohm in 2007. At that time, Justice Flohm made final orders that the children live with their parents and that the grandmother could only spend time with the children as agreed between the parents. Crucially, Justice Flohm also ordered that the grandmother was restrained from filing any further applications for parenting orders without first obtaining the leave of the Court. The respondents to the grandmother's current application for leave were the mother, Ms Kardamov, and the father, Mr Piper.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the maternal grandmother should be granted leave to file a new application for parenting orders, specifically seeking orders for all four of the mother's children to live with her. This required the Court to determine if there had been a material change in circumstances since the 2007 final orders, or if other compelling reasons existed to justify re-opening the parenting proceedings, given the previous restraint imposed on the grandmother. The Court also had to consider the paramountcy principle of the children's best interests in making this determination.

Justice Forrest dismissed the grandmother's application for leave. The Court reasoned that the grandmother had not demonstrated any change in her attitude or circumstances that would warrant re-visiting the parenting issues. The judgment extensively quoted Justice Flohm's 2007 findings, which described the grandmother's attitude as "poisonous," "obsessive," and a "potentially dangerous influence" and de-stabiliser of the family. Justice Forrest found no evidence that these characteristics had softened or that the underlying issues identified by Justice Flohm had changed. The Court noted that the grandmother's most recent attempt to retain the children in 2011, by withholding them from their mother after a holiday visit, and her subsequent allegations of abuse, had been investigated by departmental authorities and had not resulted in the children being removed from their mother's care. Furthermore, the Court observed that the mother and father, despite their separation, were united in opposing the grandmother's application, presenting a united front against re-litigation. The Court concluded that re-opening the parenting dispute would not be in the children's best interests, given the history of acrimonious litigation and the grandmother's demonstrated inability to accept previous court findings.

The Court ordered that the maternal grandmother's Application in a Case filed on 7 June 2013 be dismissed.