Murgatroyd & Murgatroyd (No 3) - [2023] FedCFamC1F 224

FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA
(DIVISION 1)
Murgatroyd & Murgatroyd (No 3) [2023] FedCFamC1F 224

File number(s): MLC 12634 of 2016

Judgment of: BAUMANN J

Date of judgment: 31 March 2023

Catchwords: FAMILY LAW – PROPERTY – Clarification of distribution of funds available after sale of home

Legislation: Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)

Cases cited: Murgatroyd & Murgatroyd (No 2) [2022] FedCFamC1F 712

Division: Division 1 First Instance

Number of paragraphs: 8

Date of hearing: 16 March 2023

Place: Brisbane

Solicitor for the Applicant: Litigant in person

Solicitor for the Respondent: Litigant in person
ORDERS

MLC 12634 of 2016

FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA (DIVISION 1)

BETWEEN:
MR MURGATROYD

Applicant

AND:
MS MURGATROYD

Respondent

order made by:

BAUMANN J

DATE OF ORDER:

31 MARCH 2023

THE COURT ORDERS:
1.That the husband shall immediately direct SS Legal to draw the following cheques by way of disbursement of the nett proceeds of sale presently held by SS Legal of $289,715.35, namely:
(a)MR MURGATROYD – $220,819.64; and
(b)MS MURGATROYD – $68,895.71.

2.That upon receipt of the cheques, the husband shall immediately deposit the wife’s cheque into her Country F bank account and shall then email the wife confirming he has done so.

Note: The form of the order is subject to the entry in the Court’s records.
Note: This copy of the Court’s Reasons for judgment may be subject to review to remedy minor typographical or grammatical errors (r 10.14(b) Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth)), or to record a variation to the order pursuant to r 10.13 Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth).
Section 121 of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) makes it an offence, except in very limited circumstances, to publish proceedings that identify persons, associated persons, or witnesses involved in family law proceedings.
IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment by this Court under the pseudonym Murgatroyd & Murgatroyd has been approved pursuant to s 121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
BAUMANN J:

On 29 September 2022, the Court delivered Reasons and pronounced orders in respect of contested property proceedings between the parties, Mr Murgatroyd (“the husband”) and Ms Murgatroyd (“the wife”) (see Murgatroyd & Murgatroyd (No 2) [2022] FedCFamC1F 712).
Pursuant to Order 1, the home at BB Street, Suburb L was to be sold. I am satisfied, as a result of evidence offered to the Court by the husband in his affidavit filed 14 March 2023 that:
(a)the home sale settled in early 2023 and after various adjustments, the solicitors for the seller have retained $289,715.35 in their trust account; and
(b)a dispute exists between the parties as to what adjustments need to be made between the parties so as to give proper effect to Order 1(e) whereby the nett proceeds were to be distributed as to 75% to the husband and 25% to the wife.
On 16 March 2023, I heard submissions from…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2023] FedCFamC1F 224
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Murgatroyd & Murgatroyd (No 3) involved the husband, Mr Murgatroyd, and the wife, Ms Murgatroyd, who were engaged in a dispute over the distribution of the nett proceeds from the sale of their family home. The matter was heard in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1). The husband and wife were both represented by themselves as litigants in person. The central issue before the court was the determination of how the nett proceeds from the sale of the home should be distributed between the parties, following a prior order that 75% of the nett proceeds were to be paid to the husband and 25% to the wife.

The court considered various adjustments to the nett proceeds as stipulated in the original order. These adjustments included the husband's credit card liability, which was deemed his sole responsibility, a deposit paid by the purchasers, and payments made by the husband for expert fees and marketing expenses. The court also examined the husband's claim regarding expenses for removalists and junk removal, which the court found were not to be shared with the wife. After evaluating all the evidence and submissions, the court calculated the nett proceeds and the respective shares for each party.

Justice Baumann concluded that the wife was entitled to $68,895.71 from the nett proceeds of sale. The court ordered that the husband, upon receiving his share of the nett proceeds, should immediately deposit the wife's share into her overseas bank account and notify her of this action. This decision was based on the husband's undertaking to the court to ensure the expeditious transfer of funds. The court thus directed the disbursement of the nett proceeds accordingly.

Orders