Strange v Turnbull; McKenzie v Turnbull [2021] NSWSC 296

Strange v Turnbull; McKenzie v Turnbull [2021] NSWSC 296

The solicitor's professional commitments justified adjourning the part of the motions directed personally to him, but not the urgent production order. The judgment creditors would suffer real potential prejudice if production were delayed because they needed the documents to prepare for the examination on 31 March 2021, and the defendant had not produced evidence or instructions showing why production should be resisted. Commercial sensitivity concerning the sale contracts could be addressed by limiting dissemination to counsel and solicitors for the judgment creditors.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
23 March 2021
Procedural Posture
Procedural Ruling / Notices of Motion Filed 12 March 2021; Adjournment Application and Application for Production of Documents in Advance of Examination
Outcome
Adjournment refused in relation to the production order; balance of the notices of motion stood over; production ordered with limited dissemination; costs reserved.
Legal Topics
['adjournment' 'examination Orders' 'production of Documents' 'judgment Debtor Examination' 'confidentiality of Produced Documents']
['civil Procedure' 'enforcement of Judgments'] ['adjournment' 'examination Orders' 'production of Documents' 'judgment Debtor Examination' 'confidentiality of Produced Documents']

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Procedural Posture

Procedural Ruling / Notices of Motion Filed 12 March 2021; Adjournment Application and Application for Production of Documents in Advance of Examination

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the notices of motion should be adjourned because the defendant's solicitor was unable to attend due to professional commitments." 'Whether the judgment debtor should be ordered to produce financial documents and completed financial statement in advance of the examination listed for 31 March 2021.' 'Whether dissemination of contracts for sale of rural properties should be limited because of asserted commercial sensitivity.']

Ratio Decidendi

The solicitor's professional commitments justified adjourning the part of the motions directed personally to him, but not the urgent production order. The judgment creditors would suffer real potential prejudice if production were delayed because they needed the documents to prepare for the examination on 31 March 2021, and the defendant had not produced evidence or instructions showing why production should be resisted. Commercial sensitivity concerning the sale contracts could be addressed by limiting dissemination to counsel and solicitors for the judgment creditors.

Court Disposition

Adjournment refused in relation to the production order; balance of the notices of motion stood over; production ordered with limited dissemination; costs reserved.

Orders

  • ['Pursuant to s 108(1) of the Civil Procedure Act, on or before 1.00pm on Monday, 29 March 2021, the Judgment Debtor is to produce, in electronic format, to Aptum Legal: (i) the documents listed in the categories in paragraph 2 of the Examination Order dated 11 December 2020. (ii) a completed financial statement in...