McArthur v Gerhard Janssen as attorney pursuant to section 34 Administration Act for Veronika Logar

The matter before the court involved an application by the appellants to compel the deceased's former solicitor to provide an affidavit of her evidence-in-chief and to attend for cross-examination. The respondents were Professor Dr Gerhard Janssen, the executor appointed under Letters of Administration, and Veronika Logar, the niece of the deceased. The appellants, the granddaughters of the deceased's late wife, claimed to be the executors named in a lost but not revoked 2011 will and sought to revoke the grant of Letters of Administration in favour of the respondents. They also sought to have a copy of the 2011 will granted in solemn form. The key legal issue before the court was whether the appellants were entitled to compel the deceased's former solicitor to provide an affidavit of her evidence-in-chief and to attend for cross-examination. The court found that the appellants were not entitled to compel the deceased's former solicitor to provide an affidavit of her evidence-in-chief and to attend for cross-examination. The court held that the appellants had already obtained a copy of the 2011 will and that there was no suggestion that the former solicitor held the original or had direct knowledge of its whereabouts. The court further held that the appellants' application was an abuse of process as it sought to adduce far more wide-ranging testimony from the former solicitor, including matters that would likely be subject to a claim for legal professional privilege. The court dismissed the application and ordered the appellants to pay the respondents' costs of the application.