Lauriano Querobino Mendonca and SUZZANE Mason

The parties to this proceeding were Lauriano Querobino Mendonca and SUZZANE Mason. The dispute concerned an application for leave to appeal against a decision of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia. The High Court of Australia was the court required to determine whether to grant leave to appeal.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia had erred in its interpretation and application of the relevant provisions of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) concerning the valuation of a party's interest in a discretionary trust in the context of property settlement proceedings. Specifically, the court was asked to consider whether the Full Court had correctly determined the extent to which a party's potential entitlement from a discretionary trust could be considered an asset for the purposes of division under the Act.

Hayne J, in considering the application for leave, focused on whether there was a reasonably arguable ground of appeal. His Honour noted that the established principles for dealing with discretionary trusts in family law proceedings generally require a high degree of certainty regarding a party's ability to access trust funds before such an interest can be treated as a divisible asset. The application for leave was ultimately dismissed, indicating that the High Court found no sufficiently arguable error in the Full Court's decision to warrant a full appeal.