FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA
(DIVISION 1)
Lalani & Lalani [2025] FedCFamC1F 150
File number(s): PAC 1553 of 2023 Judgment of: RIETHMULLER J Date of judgment: 11 March 2025 Catchwords: FAMILY LAW – INTERIM PARENTING AND PROPERTY ORDERS – Where respondent wife seeks to discharge orders providing for supervised time with eldest child – Where wife seeks to include third parties in supervised time with the eldest child – Where wife seeks that the eldest child’s time with her coincides with the younger child’s time – Where wife seeks a number of impractical parenting orders – Where variation of existing parenting orders are not in the best interests of the children – Where applicant husband seeks to use properties to obtain litigation funding – Both husband and wife to receive $200,000 in partial property settlement – Husband and wife granted leave to sign litigation funding agreements – No matters of principle. Legislation: Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth) r 7.08 Division: Division 1 First Instance Number of paragraphs: 62 Date of hearing: 2 December 2024 Place: Parramatta Solicitor for the Applicant: Ms Morizov, York Law Family Law Specialists The First Respondent: Litigant in person Solicitor for the Second to Fifth Respondents: Did not participate Solicitor for the Independent Children's Lawyer: Ms Wilkins, Phillip A Wilkins & Associates ORDERS
PAC 1553 of 2023 FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA (DIVISION 1)
BETWEEN: MR LALANI
Applicant
AND: MS LALANI
First Respondent
C PTY LTD
Second Respondent
B PTY LTD (and others named in the Schedule)
Third Respondent
INDEPENDENT CHILDREN'S LAWYER
ORDER MADE BY:
RIETHMULLER J
DATE OF ORDER:
11 MARCH 2025
THE COURT ORDERS THAT:
Litigation funding
1.The applicant husband is granted leave to sign a funding agreement with D Financial Services to obtain the sum of $250,000 for the payment of his legal costs and disbursements in these proceedings, and thereafter do all acts and things required of him to consent to the registration of a caveat by the D Financial Services against his interest in 1 E Street, Suburb F, NSW (“the E Street property”).
2.The respondent wife is granted leave to sign a litigation funding agreement to obtain the sum of $250,000 for the payment of her legal costs and disbursements in these proceedings, and thereafter do all acts and things required of her to consent to the registration of a caveat by a litigation funder against her interest in the E Street property, and her interest in 1 and 2 G Street, Suburb H, NSW (“the G Street properties”), as security for such litigation funding agreement.
Sale of the City K property
3.The husband shall do all acts and things and sign all documents necessary to authorise his solicitor to pay from his share of the net proceeds of sale of J Street, City K, NSW (“the City K property”) (after payment of the amounts referred to in Orders 29(a), (b), (c) and (d)(i) of the Orders made on…
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- Lalani & Lalani [2025] FedCFamC1F 150
- Case
- [2025] FedCFamC1F 150
- Decision Date
CaseChat Overview and Summary
The court was required to decide whether the wife had established a proper basis for making orders to adduce expert evidence and whether the variation of existing parenting orders were in the best interests of the children. The court also needed to determine if the husband and wife were granted leave to sign litigation funding agreements and how to proceed with the sale of certain properties and disclosure of recordings.
The court concluded that the wife had not established a proper basis for making orders granting her leave to adduce expert evidence. It found that the variation of existing parenting orders were not in the best interests of the children. The court granted both parties leave to sign litigation funding agreements and ordered the sale of certain properties, with the proceeds divided between the husband and wife. The court also mandated the disclosure of any audio or video recordings made by either party and restrained both parties from discussing the contents of such recordings with the children or any third party.
The court ordered that the husband and wife each receive $200,000 in partial property settlement from the sale of the City K property. The husband was also permitted to sell his one-half interest in the Suburb L property, with the proceeds to be divided and held pending further order. Both parties were directed to disclose any audio or video recordings made to each other and were restrained from discussing the contents of such recordings with the children or any third party.
Orders
Orders of the court
PAC 1553 of 2023
FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA (DIVISION 1)
BETWEEN:
MR LALANI
Applicant
AND:
MS LALANI
First Respondent
C PTY LTD
Second Respondent
B PTY LTD (and others named in the Schedule)
Third Respondent
INDEPENDENT CHILDREN'S LAWYER
ORDER MADE BY:
RIETHMULLER J
DATE OF ORDER:
11 MARCH 2025
THE COURT ORDERS THAT:
Litigation funding
1. The applicant husband is granted leave to sign a funding agreement with D Financial Services to obtain the sum of $250,000 for the payment of his legal costs and disbursements in these proceedings, and thereafter do all acts and things required of him to consent to the registration of a caveat by the D Financial Services against his interest in 1 E Street, Suburb F, NSW (“the E Street property”).
2. The respondent wife is granted leave to sign a litigation funding agreement to obtain the sum of $250,000 for the payment of her legal costs and disbursements in these proceedings, and thereafter do all acts and things required of her to consent to the registration of a caveat by a litigation funder against her interest in the E Street property, and her interest in 1 and 2 G Street, Suburb H, NSW (“the G Street properties”), as security for such litigation funding agreement.
Sale of the City K property
3. The husband shall do all acts and things and sign all documents necessary to authorise his solicitor to pay from his share of the net proceeds of sale of J Street, City K, NSW (“the City K property”) (after payment of the amounts referred to in Orders 29(a), (b), (c) and (d)(i) of the Orders made on 11 October 2024):
(a) The sum of $50,000 or such other amount as agreed between the husband and the wife shall remain in the trust account of the husband’s solicitor to meet the ongoing payment of supervisory and family therapy costs and expenses pursuant to Orders 10(c) and 14(d)(iii) of the Orders made on 11 October 2024; and
(b) The balance shall be divided equally between the husband and wife and the amount paid to each of them shall be categorised as a partial property settlement to each of them.
Sale of the Suburb L property
4. The husband is at liberty to do all acts and things and sign all documents to sell his one-half interest in M Street, Suburb L, NSW (“the Suburb L property”) to the fifth respondent for the sum of $700,000 and the fifth respondent shall do all acts and things to:
(a) Pay to the husband upon the settlement of the sale of the City K property his one-half share of the net sale proceeds (being the amount to be received by the fifth respondent pursuant to Order 29(c) of the Orders made on 11 October 2024); and
(b) Pay to the husband the balance of the sale price on or prior to the settlement of the sale of the City K property.
5. Pending further order, the husband shall do all acts and things and sign all documents to pay the amount received from the sale of his one-half interest in the Suburb L property in the following manner:
(a) The sum of $200,000 shall be paid to each of the husband and the wife and the amount paid to each of them shall be categorised as a partial property settlement to each of them; and
(b) The balance shall be held in the trust account of the husband’s solicitor pending further order or as agreed between the husband and the wife.
Disclosure of recordings
6. The husband and wife each provide disclosure of any audio or video recordings made to the other party within 7 days of the date of these Orders.
AND FURTHER
7. In the event that a party seeks to inspect the device that made recordings disclosed in these proceedings:
(a) That inspecting party shall provide the other party with a list of three proposed experts;
(b) The producing party shall choose one expert from the list and notify the inspecting party in writing within 7 days;
(c) In the event that the producing party fails to notify the inspecting party in writing within 7 days, the inspecting party be at liberty to choose an expert from the list; and
(d) The producing party provide the device to the nominated expert for inspection at a time and place notified in writing at least 3 days before the inspection time.
8. Both the husband and wife shall be restrained from disclosing to, or discussing with, the children (X and Y), or any third party (save for his or her legal representatives), the contents of the recordings, the existence of the recordings and/or any information relating to the recordings produced by the husband or wife in response to Orders 6 and 7 above.
General
9. The husband is to produce within 14 days of the date of these Orders all documents identifying any communication with NSW Police from 11 May 2024 to the date of these Orders.
10. The wife’s Response to an Application in a Proceeding filed 15 November 2024 be dismissed.
Note: The form of the order is subject to the entry in the Court’s records.
Note: This copy of the Court’s Reasons for judgment may be subject to review to remedy minor typographical or grammatical errors (r 10.14(b) Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth)), or to record a variation to the order pursuant to r 10.13 Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth).
Part XIVB of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) makes it an offence, except in very limited circumstances, to publish an account of proceedings that identify persons, associated persons, or witnesses involved in family law proceedings.
Background
Background to the litigation
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Evidence
Evidence Before The Court
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Decision
Reasons for decision
Ratio Decidendi
Legal Principle Established
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