Court refuses removal of curator
By NIDRA KEWERE MAPI
A WOMAN seeking the removal of the public curator as administrator of her deceased husband’s estate by way of a summary judgement has been refused by the National Court in Madang.
The court order was handed down by Justice David Cannings in Madang last month.
Scholly Lang, whose husband passed away in 1992, asked the court to transfer her late husband Mr Lang’s estate from the public curator to herself.
The estate is potentially valuable as Mr Lang had acquired several properties, including a commercial property in the central business part of Madang town before he died.
Mrs Lang and her son alleged that the public curator failed to properly administer the estate.
They also alleged that most of the properties are now in a state of disrepair and neglected which has caused a significant decline in their values.
They also claimed the public curator has failed miserably to discharge his duties under the Wills Probate and Administration Act.
They began legal proceedings against the public curator and the State in 2006 seeking the court to order the transfer of administration of the estate and for the public curator to prepare and file a statement of accounts.
Last Oct 16, the plaintiffs, Mrs Scholly Lang and Losu Realty Ltd, a family company formed some years ago, applied for the removal of the public curator as administrator of the estate.
The plaintiffs brought their application under two laws.
The first which was Order 12, Rule 38 (summary judgment) of the National Court Rules and the second Section 65 (1) of the Wills Probate and Administration Act.
However, the court held that in the motion for summary judgment, there had to have two preconditions of entry, which were there, but had to be “evidence of facts” on which the claim was based and evidence that the defendant had no arguable defence.
Court documents showed there was evidence of facts on which the claim was based but the defendant had arguable defence.
Therefore the summary judgement was accordingly refused.
The application under the Wills Probate and Administration Act, where Mrs Scholly Lang sought for the public curator to be removed was also refused.
According to the Act, this could only happen if the public curator was physically or mentally infirm and unfit to act in that position.
It was proven that the public curator did not suffer from any incapability.
The court ordered that all relief sought by the plaintiffs in the Notice of Motion filed last Oct 16 be refused.
Nation Stories