SEIDLER & CERNY (No.3)

In the Federal Circuit Court, Chief Judge Pascoe considered an application by the applicant, Ms Seidler, to strike out specific paragraphs from affidavits filed by the respondent, Mr Cerny. The proceedings concerned family law matters, and the application was made pursuant to rule 15.29 of the Federal Circuit Court Rules 2001 (Cth), which allows for the striking out of irrelevant material. Additionally, the court addressed an application for costs by a subpoenaed party, identified as the Objector, the Rs.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether certain paragraphs within Mr Cerny's affidavits were irrelevant to the proceedings and should therefore be struck out, and whether the Objector was entitled to an award of costs due to the respondent's conduct. The court was required to consider the principles of case management, the public interest in efficient litigation, and the factors outlined in section 117 of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth) when determining the costs application.

Chief Judge Pascoe reasoned that the identified paragraphs in Mr Cerny's affidavits were indeed irrelevant to the core issues of the family law proceedings and constituted an unreasonable pursuit of extraneous matters. The court emphasised the importance of efficient case management and the need to prevent prolonged litigation through the introduction of immaterial evidence. Consequently, the court allowed the application to strike out the specified paragraphs. Regarding costs, the court found that Mr Cerny's conduct, including the pursuit of irrelevant material, warranted an order for costs in favour of the Objector.

The court ordered that paragraphs 9 and 14 of Mr Cerny's affidavit filed on 25 May 2015, paragraphs 89, 115 of his affidavit filed on 10 June 2015, and paragraphs 37, 38, and 39 of his affidavit filed on 30 June 2015 be struck out. Furthermore, the respondent, Mr Cerny, was ordered to pay the Objector's costs, fixed at $3,000, within 90 days of the order.