family lawyers brisbane cbd

    In Akins v National Australia Bank, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered the relevant principles of an application to call fresh evidence. Although the rule that the court considered only allowed fresh evidence on special grounds, the criteria which were applied assist in cases like this.  The test the court applied had three conditions: (a) The evidence could not have been obtained with reasonable diligence for use at the trial; (b) The evidence must be such that there is a high probability that there would be a different result; and (c) The evidence must be credible. In essence, the  High Court of Australia  had to consider if the explanation of the obligations to which the wife entered into was adequate and whether there was any undue influence in relation to taking up the mortgage. The argument from the applicants’ side was that— there are express findings that she was not told to get independent advice; there is an express finding that she was...