Kelly and Lomax & Anor

In *Kelly and Lomax & Anor*, heard before Tree J, the applicant sought to re-open her case concerning interim property orders and also applied for procedural orders relating to the joinder and disjoinder of parties. The dispute involved the applicant's desire to introduce new evidence derived from subpoenas to the National Australia Bank into her existing application, and the husband's application to have Ms Lomax, the second respondent, removed as a party to the proceedings.

The court was required to determine whether to grant the applicant leave to re-open her case to adduce further evidence, and whether to exercise its jurisdiction under Family Law Rule 6.04 to remove Ms Lomax as a party. This involved considering the principles governing the re-opening of cases in family law proceedings and the test for invoking the court's jurisdiction for disjoinder, specifically the identification of a cause of action against the party sought to be removed.

Tree J granted the applicant leave to re-open her case, permitting her to adduce evidence obtained from subpoenas issued to the National Australia Bank. This decision was made in the context of the applicant's Third Amended Application in a Case and in opposition to the husband's interim orders sought in his Amended Response to Initiating Application. Furthermore, the court ordered that Ms Lomax be removed as a party to the proceedings pursuant to Family Law Rule 6.04, indicating that the necessary criteria for such an order, including the identification of a cause of action, had been met.