Langmeil and Grange (No. 2) - [2012] FamCA 588

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA

LANGMEIL & GRANGE (NO. 2)

[2012] FamCA 588

FAMILY LAW - PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE – application by the mother seeking leave of the Court to file an application in a case – where the mother is seeking a substantial change in existing parenting orders – where the mother alleges that the children have been subject to violence whilst in the care of the father – where the matter previously proceeded to trial and judgment was delivered – where the matter has a long and complex history – where the allegations made by the mother are of a similar character to those previously made at trial – application of the rule in Rice and Asplund (1979) FLC 90-725 – best interests – where the Court was not satisfied that it was in the best interests of the children for proceedings to be reinstituted – application dismissed.

Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) s 60CC

Bennett and Bennett (1991) FLC 92-191
Garning & Director-General, Department of Communities Child Safety and Disability Services and Ors (Discharge of return order) [2012] FamCA 565
Rice and Asplund (1979) FLC 90-725

APPLICANT:

Ms Langmeil

RESPONDENT:

Mr Grange

INDEPENDENT CHILDREN’S LAWYER:

Legal Services Commission of SA

FILE NUMBER:

ADC

365

2008

DATE DELIVERED:

20 July 2012

PLACE DELIVERED:

Adelaide

PLACE HEARD:

Adelaide

JUDGMENT OF:

Dawe J

HEARING DATE:

20 July 2012

REPRESENTATION

COUNSEL FOR THE APPLICANT:

N/A

SOLICITOR FOR THE APPLICANT:

In Person

COUNSEL FOR THE RESPONDENT:

N/A

SOLICITOR FOR THE RESPONDENT:

N/A

COUNSEL FOR THE INDEPENDENT CHILDREN’S LAWYER

Mr Stephen

SOLICITOR FOR THE INDEPENDENT CHILDREN’S LAWYER

Legal Services Commission of SA

Orders

The Applicant Mother’s Application in a Case filed on 4 July 2012 for leave from the Court to file an Application in a Case and a Form 4 Notification of Child Abuse and supporting Affidavit is dismissed.

IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment by this Court under the pseudonym Langmeil & Grange (No. 2) has been approved by the Chief Justice pursuant to s 121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA AT ADELAIDE

FILE NUMBER: ADC 365 of 2008

Ms Langmeil

Applicant

And

Mr Grange

Respondent

EX-TEMPORE REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

This is the Application in a Case, filed by the mother on 4 July 2012. That Application in a Case contains an application to seek leave from the Court for an urgent hearing, in relation to an attached Form 4 and attached affidavit.
The orders sought by the mother are the urgent removal of the children from “the risk of child abuse and the threats of further child abuse from the father, [Mr Grange] and the children’s urgent return to the full time care of their mother”.
Paragraph 3 refers to “permission of the Court” for the children to attend “appropriate counselling”. Paragraph 4 seeks “an urgent independent psychiatric assessment of the father and rehabilitation”, presumably of the father.
In paragraph 5 the applicant “requests the father have only supervised contact in…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Langmeil and Grange (No. 2)

Details

AGLC: LANGMEIL & GRANGE (NO. 2) [2012] FamCA 588
Case: [2012] FamCA 588
Decision Date: 20 July 2012

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In *Langmeil and Grange (No. 2)*, the Applicant Mother sought leave from the Court to file an Application in a Case, a Form 4 Notification of Child Abuse, and a supporting affidavit. The specific nature of the dispute between the parties is not detailed in the provided text, but the application concerned matters relating to a child. The decision was made by Dawe J.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether to grant the Applicant Mother leave to file her application and associated documents. This required the Court to consider the threshold for granting such leave in the context of the relevant rules of procedure and the circumstances presented.

Dawe J dismissed the Applicant Mother's application. The reasoning for this dismissal is not elaborated upon in the provided text, but the outcome indicates that the Court found insufficient grounds or met the necessary criteria to grant the requested leave.

Orders

Orders of the court

The Applicant Mother’s Application in a Case filed on 4 July 2012 for leave from the Court to file an Application in a Case and a Form 4 Notification of Child Abuse and supporting Affidavit is dismissed.

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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