Mena and Mena & Anor

The case of Mena and Mena & Anor involved a dispute between a husband and wife concerning the division of their assets following a divorce. The wife appealed the decision of the trial judge, who had divided the assets between the husband and wife at a ratio of 55 per cent to the husband and 45 per cent to the wife. The wife argued that the trial judge’s decision to make a 5 per cent adjustment in favour of the husband was erroneous. This adjustment was based on the trial judge’s finding that the husband had a moral obligation to his mother, which was deemed unenforceable. The Full Court held that the trial judge’s adjustment was inconsistent with the earlier finding that there was no legally enforceable obligation between the husband and his mother.

The legal issues before the court were whether the trial judge's adjustment was erroneous and whether it was appropriate to make an adjustment based on a moral obligation. The Full Court found that the trial judge’s adjustment was inconsistent with the earlier finding and that any adjustment based on a moral obligation was not appropriate. The court also noted that the trial judge had already adjusted the division of assets based on the funds advanced by the husband’s mother, making a further adjustment unnecessary. The Full Court re-exercised the discretion and concluded that the same orders should have been made by the trial judge. The appeal was dismissed, and no order was made as to costs.

The Full Court also considered the respondent’s application to re-open the appeal and adduce further evidence. The respondent argued that the further evidence was relevant to the appeal and the re-exercise of the discretion. The Full Court found that the evidence was not relevant to the determination of the appeal but was relevant to the re-exercise of the discretion. The application to re-open the appeal and adduce further evidence was allowed for the purpose of the re-exercise of the discretion. The application to adduce further evidence filed by the husband on 29 May 2014 was dismissed. The appeal was ultimately dismissed, and no order was made as to costs.