A man tried to sue the executors of a will for a third time over the same money. A judge said he had already lost the case twice, his attempts to sue were an abuse of the court system, and he hadn't even served the paperwork correctly. The lawsuit was thrown out.
Key Facts
- •Claimant brought proceedings against executors of Blanche Condon's estate to enforce a 2006 contract between the deceased and Claimant's mother.
- •The contract purportedly apportioned a share of the estate to the Claimant.
- •Two prior sets of litigation involving the same parties and contract had been dismissed (NSW claim by consent order, first UK claim by discontinuance).
- •Defendants argued abuse of process, res judicata, and lack of proper service.
- •Claimant argued that discontinuance did not bar a fresh claim and that jurisdictional gateways were met.
Legal Principles
Abuse of process
Inherent jurisdiction of the court
Res judicata/Issue estoppel
Henderson v Henderson [1842-60] All E.R.Rep. 378
Effect of consent orders
Ako v Rothschild Asset Management [2002] ICR 899
Service of claim form and particulars of claim
CPR 7.4(2)
Jurisdictional gateways for service out of the jurisdiction
CPR 6.36 and CPR 6 PDB (2)(a)
Outcomes
Claim dismissed
The claim was an abuse of process because it was an attempt to relitigate matters already dismissed by a court of competent jurisdiction in New South Wales. The Claimant was estopped from bringing the claim. Further, the claim form and particulars of claim were not properly served on the Defendants.