Skidmore v Salvatore

In the case of Skidmore v Salvatore, the dispute involved the distribution of the estate of the deceased, Salvatore, and the application of family provision claims under the Succession Act 2006 (NSW). The court was tasked with determining whether it had the jurisdiction to issue an interlocutory injunction preventing the dealing of property that was likely to be designated as part of the notional estate. Additionally, the court had to consider whether an application to amend the claim to introduce a substantive equitable claim after court-annexed mediation was appropriate, particularly in the absence of a satisfactory explanation for the delay and where the new claim was not based on facts that could not have been discovered with reasonable diligence.

The central legal issues the court needed to address were whether it possessed the authority to grant an interlocutory injunction in relation to property that might be included in the notional estate and if the amendment to the claim was justified under the circumstances. The court had to balance the principles of family provision against the procedural fairness and the potential prejudice to the parties involved.

The court determined that it did not have the jurisdiction to grant an interlocutory injunction in relation to property that could be designated as part of the notional estate, as per section 62(3) of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW). Regarding the amendment to the claim, the court found that the application was not warranted due to the lack of an adequate explanation for the delay and the fact that the new claim was not grounded in facts that could not have been discovered earlier. Consequently, the application to amend was dismissed, and no interlocutory injunction was issued.