Parton & Teesdale (No 2) - [2023] FedCFamC2F 344

FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA
(DIVISION 2)
Parton & Teesdale (No 2) [2023] FedCFamC2F 344

File number(s): PAC 1539 of 2021

Judgment of: JUDGE WILLIS AM

Date of judgment: 29 March 2023

Catchwords: FAMILY LAW – PROCEDURAL – where judgment delivered disposing of property and spousal maintenance dispute – where judgment specifically details judge’s intention to make an order for spousal maintenance – where the order for spousal maintenance was erroneously omitted from the orders proclaimed at the time of judgment delivery – where the mistake or omission was accidental – where the slip rule applies – where sealed orders proclaimed on date of judgment are now amended

Legislation: Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth) r 10.13

Cases cited:
DJL v Central Authority (2000) 170 ALR 659

Fritz v Hobson (1880) 14 ChD 542

Hatton v Harris [1892] AC 547

Milson v Carter [1893] AC 638

Division: Division 2 Family Law

Date of hearing: 29 March 2023

Place: Brisbane

Number of paragraphs: 18

Solicitor for the Applicant: Ms Hatton of Meredith Hatton & Associates

Solicitor for the Respondent: Self-represented
ORDERS

PAC 1539 of 2021

FEDERAL CIRCUIT AND FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA (DIVISION 2)

BETWEEN:
MR PARTON

Applicant

AND:
MS TEESDALE

Respondent

ORDER MADE BY:

JUDGE WILLIS AM

DATE OF ORDER:

29 MARCH 2023

THE COURT ORDERS:
1.That the judgment issued on 23 February 2023 be amended pursuant to Rule 10.13 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth) (“the slip rule”) to include an additional order that “the husband pay to the wife the sum of $930 a week by way of spousal maintenance for a period of 18 months, commencing 23 February 2023” (which was the Order omitted from the Orders proclaimed on that date).

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 a pseudonym has been approved pursuant to s 121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
JUDGE WILLIS AM:
BACKGROUND

On 23 February 2023 the Court published a judgment in relation to property and spousal maintenance following on from a three-day hearing. At the time of pronouncing the Orders the Court read into the record Orders 1 to 14 relating to property and published the 27 page judgment.
The Court was subsequently contacted by…

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.

Continue reading Parton & Teesdale (No 2)

Details

AGLC: Parton & Teesdale (No 2) [2023] FedCFamC2F 344
Case: [2023] FedCFamC2F 344
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Parton & Teesdale (No 2) involved a dispute between the applicant, Mr Parton, and the respondent, Ms Teesdale, regarding property division and spousal maintenance. The matter was heard by Judge Willis AM in the Family Law Division of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, and the judgment was delivered on 23 February 2023. The primary legal issues were whether the court could amend the sealed orders to include an omitted spousal maintenance order and if the slip rule applied in this instance.

The court's reasoning centred on the application of the slip rule, which allows for the correction of accidental slips or omissions in court orders. The court noted that Ms Teesdale had identified the omission of the spousal maintenance order from the sealed orders, while the judgment explicitly mentioned the spousal maintenance award. The husband's solicitor requested an opportunity to be heard on the spousal maintenance issue, but the court found that it was not necessary to take further evidence or submissions, as the findings and judgment had already been delivered.

The court determined that the omission was accidental, as it was clear that the intention was to include the spousal maintenance order in the sealed orders. The slip rule applies regardless of whether the order has been drawn up, passed, or entered. The court referred to relevant case law and concluded that the application of the slip rule was not confined to the intention of the judgment at the time the order was made or judgment given, but extends to the intention the court would have had but for the failure that caused the accidental slip or omission. The court further held that the test of whether a mistake or omission is accidental is whether the correction would have been made if the matter had been drawn to the court's attention.

The court ordered that the judgment issued on 23 February 2023 be amended pursuant to Rule 10.13 of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Family Law) Rules 2021 (Cth) to include an additional order for the husband to pay the wife $930 a week by way of spousal maintenance for a period of 18 months, commencing on 23 February 2023. The form of the order is subject to entry in the Court's records, and the court noted that this copy of the Court's Reasons for Judgment may be subject to review to remedy minor typographical or grammatical errors or to record a variation to the order.

Orders