Ms Covington v Mr Covington

MS COVINGTON
v
MR COVINGTON & ANOR
[2021] HCASL 179
M25/2021

The applicant seeks special leave to appeal from the whole of the decision of the Full Court of the Family Court of Australia (Strickland, Ryan and Aldridge JJ) delivered on 16 of April 2021. The applicant also seeks leave to amend the application for special leave to appeal.
The application for leave to amend should be granted. The application for special leave to appeal does not raise any doubt as to the correctness of the decision of the Full Court. Accordingly, special leave should be refused.
Pursuant to r 41.08.1 of the High Court Rules 2004 (Cth), we direct the Registrar to draw up, sign and seal an order granting the application for leave to amend and dismissing the application for leave to appeal.

S.J Gageler J.S Gleeson

9 September 2021

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Ms Covington sought special leave to appeal a decision made by the Full Court of the Family Court of Australia. The decision, rendered by Justices Strickland, Ryan, and Aldridge, was issued on 16 April 2021. The appeal sought to challenge the entirety of the Full Court's ruling, and concurrently, Ms Covington requested permission to amend her application for special leave to appeal. The crux of the matter lay in the Family Court's decision, and whether the Full Court's judgment was sufficiently sound to warrant an appeal to the High Court.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the application for special leave to appeal should be granted, and if so, whether the application for leave to amend the application for special leave to appeal should also be permitted. The Full Court's decision was not contested on its correctness, but rather on whether it merited further judicial scrutiny at the High Court level. The court had to determine whether the appeal raised any doubt about the correctness of the Full Court's ruling.

In considering the application, the court found that the request to amend the application for special leave to appeal did not introduce any new doubt regarding the correctness of the Full Court's decision. The court held that the application for special leave to appeal did not raise any such doubt. Therefore, the application for special leave to appeal was refused. However, the court did grant the application to amend the application for special leave to appeal, finding it to be appropriate under the circumstances. The court issued an order pursuant to rule 41.08.1 of the High Court Rules 2004 (Cth), directing the Registrar to draft, sign, and seal an order granting the application for leave to amend and dismissing the application for leave to appeal. This decision was made by Justices S.J Gageler and J.S Gleeson on 9 September 2021.

CaseChat Overview and Summary

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Background to the litigation

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Legal Principle Established