MOY & PAO

In the Family Court of Australia, Ms Moy (the applicant wife) sought an extension of time to file her written submissions in opposition to the submissions of B Pty Ltd (the intervenor and judgment creditor). Mr Pao (the respondent husband) had, by agreement with the intervenor, been granted an extension to file his submissions. The dispute arose in the context of a property settlement proceeding where the intervenor sought to discharge a restraining order that had prevented it from enforcing a substantial judgment debt against the husband.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether to grant the wife an extension of time to file her submissions, despite her previous lack of diligence in the proceedings and failure to comply with court orders, including the timely filing of trial evidence. The court was also required to consider the impact of granting such an extension on the progress of the case, particularly in light of the significant judgment debt owed by the husband and the wife's assertion of an interest in the matrimonial assets.

The court noted the wife's prolonged lack of participation and her failure to file crucial evidence by the ordered deadline. However, the court also acknowledged that the wife had recently obtained legal representation and was seeking to regularise her position. The intervenor opposed the extension, highlighting the wife's lack of diligence and the substantial judgment debt. The respondent husband, however, had reached an agreement with the intervenor for an extension of time for his submissions. The court considered the wife's argument that her claim, if successful, would involve a determination of whether the judgment debt was solely the husband's liability or a joint one, a matter requiring evidence and a trial.

Ultimately, the court granted the wife an extension of time to file her submissions until 11 December 2020, subject to the entry of formal orders. This decision was made in circumstances where the husband had also been granted an extension and the wife's legal representative foreshadowed an application for an extension of time to file trial affidavits.