Casse v Shih - [2024] NZHC 1410

IN THE HIGH COURT OF NEW ZEALAND AUCKLAND REGISTRY

I TE KŌTI MATUA O AOTEAROA TĀMAKI MAKAURAU ROHE

CIV 2023-404-1912

[2024] NZHC 1410

UNDER Part 19 of the High Court Rules 2016 and ss 6(2) and 19 of the Administration Act 1969

IN THE MATTER OF

The Estate of Yu-Huan Shih

BETWEEN

MELODY HSUAN-CHU CASSE and SHEU-HARN CRYSTAL LIN

Applicants

AND

CHIEN-NAN SHIH

Respondent

Hearing: 15 February 2024

Appearances:

A McDonald for the applicants D Oh for the respondent

Judgment:

31 May 2024

JUDGMENT OF CAMPBELL J

This judgment was delivered by me on 31 May 2024 at 12.30 pm pursuant to Rule 11.5 of the High Court Rules

Registrar/Deputy Registrar

CASSE and LIN v SHIH [2024] NZHC 1410 [31 May 2024]

[1] The applicants, Melody Hsuan Casse (Melody) and Sheu-Harn Crystal Lin (Crystal), are the only grandchildren of the late Yu-Huan Shih (Mrs Shih). Mrs Shih died on 19 March 2021.

[2] Mrs Shih had two children. One was the applicants’ late mother, Sheree Pi-Wu Lin (Sheree). Sheree died in 2011. The other is the respondent, Chien Nan Shih (Jason), the applicants’ uncle.

[3] Jason is the sole executor and beneficiary of Mrs Shih’s last will, which is dated 15 May 2018 (2018 Will). The applicants consider that Jason exerted undue influence over Mrs Shih to execute the 2018 Will. They contend that an earlier will (under which they are beneficiaries) is valid. In case they are wrong, and the 2018 Will is valid, the applicants intend to make a claim against Mrs Shih’s estate under the Family Protection Act 1955 (the FPA).

[4] There is only a very modest amount in Mrs Shih’s estate. This means that the applicants will enjoy no material benefit from proving the earlier will or from an FPA claim. The applicants believe that the modest size of Mrs Shih’s estate is a result of Jason receiving assets from the estate in the years preceding Mrs Shih’s death. They consider that various transactions between Mrs Shih and Jason should be investigated and, if warranted, a proceeding should be brought by the estate to recover assets that will augment the estate. To that end, the applicants commenced this proceeding, in which they apply for orders granting them administration of Mrs Shih’s estate. Jason opposes the application.

The applicants’ underlying case and Jason’s response

[5] Following their grandmother’s death, the applicants wanted to understand the terms of Mrs Shih’s last will. They expected provision to have been made for them given that their mother, Sheree, had predeceased Mrs Shih.

[6] The applicants say that their efforts to understand the terms of Mrs Shih’s last will were stonewalled by Jason, and that this led to them filing, in April 2022, a pre- commencement discovery application. An order for pre-commencement discovery was ultimately made by consent.

[7] From discovery the applicants learned that Mrs Shih had made four wills, in 2006, 2012, 2013 and…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Casse v Shih

Details

AGLC: Casse v Shih [2024] NZHC 1410
Case: [2024] NZHC 1410
Decision Date: 31 May 2024

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The case of Casse v Shih involved the applicants, Melody Hsuan Casse and Sheu-Harn Crystal Lin, seeking administration of the estate of their late grandmother, Yu-Huan Shih, due to concerns about the validity of the 2018 Will executed by Mrs Shih. The applicants alleged that their uncle, Chien-Nan Shih (Jason), unduly influenced Mrs Shih to execute the 2018 Will and that the estate had been depleted. They sought to investigate these matters further and possibly bring a proceeding to recover assets that were allegedly removed from the estate. Jason opposed the application, arguing that the probate proceeding he had initiated was sufficient for addressing the applicants’ concerns.

The legal issues the court needed to decide were whether the applicants should be granted administration of Mrs Shih’s estate under sections 6(2) or 19 of the Administration Act 1969, given that Jason had not acted promptly to administer the estate and whether the applicants had a legitimate interest in having the estate investigated further. The court considered the discretion to grant administration to someone other than the named executor, focusing on the factors of expedience, the testator's wishes, and the interests of the beneficiaries.

The court found that the applicants' concerns about the validity of the 2018 Will and the depletion of the estate warranted investigation, which could only be effectively conducted if the applicants were granted administration. Although Jason had initiated a probate proceeding, it did not address the applicants' concerns about asset depletion. The court also noted that while the applicants had grievances against Jason, they were willing and able to investigate the matters further. The court concluded that the applicants should be granted administration to allow for proper investigation and potential recovery of estate assets. The court ordered that Jason pay the applicants' costs on a 2B basis.

Orders