Sarina and Sarina & Ors

In the matter of *Sarina and Sarina & Ors*, Bell J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application to strike out certain paragraphs of a Further Amended Statement of Claim. The dispute concerned allegations made within family law proceedings, with the Second and Fourth Respondents seeking to have specific parts of the pleading removed.

The central legal issues before the court were whether paragraphs 40LL and 41 of the Further Amended Statement of Claim were embarrassing or otherwise an abuse of process, and whether a specific prayer for relief should be restricted in its temporal scope. The court was required to determine if these pleadings were so vague, irrelevant, or prolix as to prejudice the fair trial of the proceedings or cause undue delay or expense.

Bell J ordered that paragraphs 40LL and 41 of the Further Amended Statement of Claim be struck out. Furthermore, the court restricted the first paragraph of the Prayer for Relief to the period prior to 11 February 2010. The application by the Second and Fourth Respondents was otherwise dismissed, and the costs of the application were reserved to be determined at trial.