Meadows & Meadows (No. 6)

In the matter of PAC 3509 of 2013, Ms. Meadows (the applicant wife) sought leave from the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia to institute proceedings against Mr. Meadows (the respondent husband). The application for leave was made pursuant to section 102QE(2) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth).

The central legal issue before Rees J was whether the applicant wife should be granted leave to institute proceedings, given that she had previously been declared a vexatious litigant. The court was required to determine if the proposed proceedings met the threshold for granting such leave, notwithstanding the existing vexatious litigant order.

Rees J dismissed the amended application for leave. The reasoning for this dismissal, though not detailed in the provided text, would have involved an assessment of whether the proposed proceedings were frivolous, vexatious, or an abuse of process, consistent with the purpose of section 102QE of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) which governs applications for leave to institute proceedings by vexatious litigants. The court applied the principles established for granting or refusing such leave, considering the applicant's history as a declared vexatious litigant.

The court ordered that the amended application of the wife dated 8 April 2021, seeking leave pursuant to s 102QE(2) of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) to institute proceedings, be dismissed.