Gill v Garrett & Ors [2020] NSWSC 795

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Gill v Garrett & Ors [2020] NSWSC 795 Hearing dates: 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 March & 14 May 2019 Date of orders: 16 July 2020 Decision date: 16 July 2020 Jurisdiction: Equity Before: Slattery J Decision: No contract made between the plaintiff and the deceased. Claim in equitable estoppel fails. Claim in restitution fails. No further provision made out of the estate of the deceased under the Succession Act. On the cross claim, judgment for possession entered in favour of the executors and the cross defendant found in breach of fiduciary duty and to have engaged in unconscionable conduct in relation to the deceased. Catchwords: ESTOPPEL – Equitable estoppel – plaintiff lives in the Paddington terrace house of a retired doctor from 2004 until the retired doctor ("the deceased") died in 2015 – the plaintiff continued to live in the Paddington property – plaintiff alleges the deceased promised to transfer the Paddington property to the plaintiff after the deceased's death, if the plaintiff cared for the deceased until then – the deceased died a few months after his family limited any care the plaintiff could continue to provide to him – the deceased's executors, the defendants, deny the deceased made the promises the plaintiff alleges – even if the promises were made, the executors contest that the plaintiff relied upon them and contend that the plaintiff suffered no detriment.

CONTRACTS – Formation – the plaintiff claims the alleged promises constitute a contract between the plaintiff and the deceased – whether the alleged promises were made – whether the alleged promises constituted a contract – whether the promises were enforceable – whether any contract so made should now be set aside in equity for the plaintiff's unconscionable conduct or under the Contracts Review Act 1980 – an account of the plaintiff's alleged unconscionable conduct.