Roche v Roche & Anor (No 2)

In the case of Roche v Roche & Anor (No 2), the dispute involved issues of succession, specifically the making of a will and testamentary capacity. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The plaintiff, who was contesting the will of the deceased, argued that the deceased did not have the requisite testamentary capacity when the will was made. The defendants, the executors of the will, contended that the deceased had the necessary capacity and that the will should be upheld.

The court was required to determine whether the deceased had the testamentary capacity when the will was executed. This involved examining the circumstances surrounding the making of the will and the mental state of the deceased at that time. Additionally, the court had to address the issue of costs, particularly in relation to the late disclosure of documents and the adequacy of the time provided to respond to an offer made by the defendants.

The court found that the time allowed for a response to the offer was inadequate and that the offer appeared to be part of a strategy to suggest improper motivation on the part of the plaintiff. Consequently, the court gave no weight to the open letter of offer dated 30 October 2015. The court also ruled on the costs, determining that the plaintiff would pay the defendants' costs of the action on a party/party basis, and that the defendants would pay the costs thrown away due to late disclosure of documents.

In summary, the court upheld the will, finding that the deceased had testamentary capacity, and made specific orders regarding the costs associated with the litigation.