Estate of Melville Gooley [2021] NSWSC 228

Estate of Melville Gooley [2021] NSWSC 228

The Plaintiffs lost the contested probate case and the testator was not the only cause of the litigation merely because he had made multiple wills. The multiple wills were circumstances requiring inquiry into which will was the last will of a free and capable testator, but the Court's adverse findings against the Plaintiffs, including suspicious conduct, sanitisation of evidence, self-interest, and their role in procuring the wills by which they stood to gain, made it fair that they pay the costs of the litigation personally on an ordinary basis rather than have their costs paid from the estate.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
15 March 2021
Procedural Posture
Contested Probate Costs Application / Costs Determination Following Principal Judgment on 12 February 2021
Outcome
The Plaintiffs were ordered to pay the costs of the litigation personally on an ordinary basis.
Legal Topics
['contested Probate' 'testamentary Capacity' 'costs Out of the Estate' 'suspicious Circumstances' 'testator as Cause of Litigation']
['succession' 'probate' 'costs'] ['contested Probate' 'testamentary Capacity' 'costs Out of the Estate' 'suspicious Circumstances' 'testator as Cause of Litigation']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Contested Probate Costs Application / Costs Determination Following Principal Judgment on 12 February 2021

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["Whether the Plaintiffs' costs should be paid on an ordinary basis from the estate or whether they should bear costs personally." "Whether the circumstances of the multiple wills and the deceased's conduct brought the case within probate exceptions to the usual costs rule." "Whether the Plaintiffs' conduct, including sanitisation of evidence and suspicious circumstances in relation to wills, disentitled them to costs from the estate."]

Ratio Decidendi

The Plaintiffs lost the contested probate case and the testator was not the only cause of the litigation merely because he had made multiple wills. The multiple wills were circumstances requiring inquiry into which will was the last will of a free and capable testator, but the Court's adverse findings against the Plaintiffs, including suspicious conduct, sanitisation of evidence, self-interest, and their role in procuring the wills by which they stood to gain, made it fair that they pay the costs of the litigation personally on an ordinary basis rather than have their costs paid from the estate.

Court Disposition

The Plaintiffs were ordered to pay the costs of the litigation personally on an ordinary basis.

Orders

  • ['The Plaintiffs pay the costs of the litigation agreed or taxed personally on an ordinary basis.']