A notorious family running out of money to pay lawyers has had a decade-long appeal over a multi-million-dollar tax bill thrown out for persistently breaching court orders.
Eleven relatives of corrupt former Labor powerbroker Eddie Obeid failed to stop a tax office bid to toss their appeal.
The Federal Court ruling on Thursday brings an end to a case first filed in 2014 and then delayed to allow numerous corruption and criminal inquiries against members of the family to conclude.
Family patriarch Eddie Obeid and son Moses were jailed in 2021 for seven and five years respectively for conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office.
The offence related to a corrupt deal to sell the family farm Cherrydale Park to a coal company.
The duo are not party to the tax proceedings.
The 11 relatives, including Eddie's wife Judith and son Edward Jr, were challenging a tax office decision that said they owed tax from the $30 million sale of Cherrydale.
With the appeal hearing set to begin in 11 days, Justice Geoffrey Kennett found the family failed in its duty to comply with court orders for months.
The judge's associate sent the family three separate emails in June and July asking for details of the progress being made to file written submissions.
No response was received, other than an email from their previous solicitor saying he was no longer acting for the family.
Eddie Obeid's criminal lawyer Michael Bowe later told the court the family did not have the resources to hire counsel for the hearing, so it should either be delayed again, or start with no written submissions or witness lists.
"Technically, this is correct, however it is not a proper approach to complex litigation," Justice Kennett said on Thursday.
"For a party to put the court in a position to proceed in such a way would be a breach of their obligations."
Justice Kennett outlined multiple occasions where requests for documents or evidence were ignored.
"(The family) have been calculated and recalcitrant in their non-compliance to orders of the court," he said.
The Independent Commission Against Corruption found in 2013 that Eddie and his son Moses had corruptly arranged with former Labor mining minister Ian Macdonald to create a coal tenement over the farm.
The Obeids ran their finances through a series of trusts which could be labelled "shams", ICAC found.
In the notice of tax appeal filed in 2014, Edward Jr argued profits gained from the farm sale were not "ordinary income" and should not be included in the taxable income of the family trust.
Eddie Obeid, 82, was released to parole in August 2025 after serving three years and 10 months.
The former upper house MP whose 20-year career ended in 2011 also served jail time for corrupt conduct related to outlets in whichhis family held financial interests.
Moses was paroled in 2024.
Former Labor mining minister Ian Macdonald, who was also found guilty over the same conspiracy, is eligible for parole in January.
