Payne and Kennett and Anor

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA

PAYNE & KENNETT AND ANOR [2017] FamCA 400

FAMILY LAW – COSTS – Child representative – Where all applications before the Court dismissed due to non-appearance of the parties – Where parties ordered to pay the costs of the Independent Children’s Lawyer

Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) ss 117, 117(2), 117(2A), 117(4), 117(5)

Gahen & Gahen No. 2 [2013] FamCA 936
De Roma & De Roma [2013] FamCA 566

APPLICANT: Ms Payne

FIRST RESPONDENT: Ms Kennett

SECOND RESPONDENT: Mr Trevor

INDEPENDENT CHILDREN’S LAWYER: Ms Quirk

FILE NUMBER: BRC 4442 of 2014

DATE DELIVERED: 16 May 2017

PLACE DELIVERED: Parramatta

PLACE HEARD: Parramatta

JUDGMENT OF: Foster J

HEARING DATE: 16 May 2017

REPRESENTATION

APPLICANT – SELF‑REPRESENTED LITIGANT: No appearance

FIRST RESPONDENT – SELF‑REPRESENTED LITIGANT: No appearance

SECOND RESPONDENT – SELF‑REPRESENTED LITIGANT: No appearance

SOLICITOR FOR THE INDEPENDENT CHILDREN’S LAWYER: Ms Quirk of Crawford Ryan Lawyers Pty Ltd

Orders

1. All applications before the Court are dismissed.

2. The proceedings be removed from the active pending cases list.

3. Within two months of this date the father pay to Legal Aid NSW by way of contribution to the Independent Children’s Lawyer’s costs the sum of $1,622.34.

4. Within two months of this date the mother pay to Legal Aid NSW by way of contribution to the Independent Children’s Lawyer’s costs the sum of $1,622.34.

Note: The form of the order is subject to the entry of the order in the Court’s records.

IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment by this Court under the pseudonym Payne & Kennett and Anor has been approved by the Chief Justice pursuant to s 121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).

Note: This copy of the Court’s Reasons for Judgment may be subject to review to remedy minor typographical or grammatical errors (r 17.02A(b) of the Family Law Rules 2004 (Cth)), or to record a variation to the order pursuant to r 17.02 Family Law Rules 2004 (Cth).

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA AT PARRAMATTA

FILE NUMBER: BRC 4442 of 2014

Ms Payne

Applicant

And

Ms Kennett

First Respondent

And

Mr Trevor

Second Respondent

EX TEMPORE

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

1. In this matter there being no appearance by the applicant and respondents, all applications before the Court are dismissed and the proceedings are removed from the pending cases list.

2. The outstanding application before the Court is the application for costs by the Independent Children's Lawyer.

3. The parties have now disengaged from these proceedings, and as a consequence of that disengagement and presumably the relocation of the subject child, L to New Zealand pursuant to orders made on 19 July 2016, the parties’ various applications before the Court have been dismissed.

4. The Independent Children’s Lawyer seeks an order that the parties pay equally the costs of the Independent Children's Lawyer that are assessed in accordance with exhibit “A” in a total of $3,244.67. The Independent Children's Lawyer seeks an order that each of the parties pay the sum of $1,622.34.

5. The law as to costs is…