Malloy and Stopford Malloy (No. 4)

Harper J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application by the Husband to discharge and vary existing spousal maintenance orders made in 2015. This application followed a series of repeated interlocutory applications by the Husband, and the Wife sought to have the Husband's latest application dismissed, alleging an abuse of process. The Wife also sought an order for costs.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the Husband's application constituted an abuse of process, and consequently, whether the Wife was entitled to an order for costs, and on what basis. The court was required to assess the Husband's conduct in light of the history of litigation and the nature of his current application.

Harper J found that the Husband's repeated applications, without any substantial change in circumstances or new evidence to justify a variation of the long-standing spousal maintenance orders, amounted to an abuse of process. The court applied the principle that litigation should have a proper purpose and that parties should not be permitted to repeatedly litigate issues that have already been determined, absent compelling reasons. The court therefore dismissed the Husband's application.

The court ordered that the Husband's application be dismissed and that he pay the Wife's costs of and incidental to the application. These costs were to be assessed on an indemnity basis and certified fit for both counsel and senior counsel.