LITTLE & LITTLE

In the matter of LITTLE & LITTLE, Forrest J of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia considered an application by the husbands seeking an injunction to remove the wife from her directorships of B Pty Ltd and Little Pty Ltd. The dispute also involved the distribution of funds held in the husband's solicitors' trust account and the process for seeking clarification from a single expert witness regarding the valuation of a business.

The court was required to determine whether to grant the injunction sought by the husbands, how funds held in trust should be distributed, and whether to extend the time for parties to seek clarification from a single expert witness concerning a business valuation report. The court also had to consider the implications of these distributions on any future property adjustment orders.

Forrest J dismissed the husbands' application for an injunction to remove the wife as a director. The court ordered that the funds held in the solicitors' trust account be distributed, with $67,000 allocated to the husband for legal costs and the remainder to be divided equally between the husband and wife. The court further ordered that the treatment of these payments in any final property adjustment orders would be a matter for agreement or the discretion of the judge determining those orders. Additionally, the time for parties to ask questions of the single expert witness, Mr C, regarding his valuation report for B Pty Ltd was extended by 21 days, with each party to bear the costs of Mr C’s responses to their questions.