McGettigan v Coulter

The applicant, McGettigan, appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of the primary judge who had granted letters of administration to the respondents in respect of the deceased's 2000 will. McGettigan challenged the validity of the 2000 will and sought to propound a later will dated 2016. The primary judge had found that McGettigan lacked standing to challenge the 2000 will and had rejected the substance of his challenge, further concluding that the 2016 will was fabricated by McGettigan.

The legal issues before the Court of Appeal included whether the evidence was sufficient to support the primary judge’s conclusions regarding McGettigan's standing and the fabrication of the 2016 will. Additionally, the court considered an application by McGettigan to adduce further evidence on appeal, which required determining whether the evidence could have been obtained with reasonable diligence for the trial and if there were "special grounds" to admit it under section 75A(8) of the *Supreme Court Act 1970* (NSW).

The Court of Appeal dismissed McGettigan's application to adduce further evidence, finding that it could have been obtained with reasonable diligence at trial and that there was no realistic probability of a different outcome. Consequently, the court found that no "special grounds" were established. The court then determined that the appeal itself was incompetent.

The Court of Appeal ordered that an extension of time for the applicant to file his notice of appeal be refused, and the appeal be dismissed as incompetent. The applicant's motion filed on 30 June 2022 was also dismissed, and the applicant was ordered to pay the respondents' costs of the application to extend time and of the proposed appeal.