Hans-Egon Bruno Bernhard Metzner & Anor v Jaqueline Rita Metzner [2021] NSWSC 1336

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Hans-Egon Bruno Bernhard Metzner & Anor v Jaqueline Rita Metzner [2021] NSWSC 1336 Hearing dates: 15, 16, 17, 18 June and 12 August 2021 Date of orders: 19 October 2021 Decision date: 08 October 2021 Jurisdiction: Equity - Real Property List Before: Rein J Decision: See [176]-[177] Catchwords: EQUITY — Trusts and trustees — Resulting trusts — Presumption of advancement — Property purchased by parents (the Plaintiffs) in daughter's (the Defendant) name — Consideration of whether the Plaintiffs intended to gift the whole of the Property to the Defendant or retain the beneficial interest, or a part thereof, for themselves — Consideration of whether the Plaintiffs have rebutted the presumption of advancement — Plea by the Defendant, in the alternative, that if she holds the Property on trust for the Plaintiffs, it is only in respect of a life estate for the Plaintiffs — Held: the Plaintiffs have not discharged their onus of rebutting the presumption of advancement, save to the extent of a life interest — Declaration that the Defendant holds the Property on trust for the Plaintiffs for their lifetimes and then for herself absolutely EQUITY — Unconscionable conduct — Special disability or disadvantage — No special disability or disadvantage EVIDENCE — Witness evidence — Competence — Lack of capacity — First Plaintiff deposed to two affidavits — Plaintiffs assert that the First Plaintiff lost capacity on account of his diagnosis of mixed vascular Alzheimer dementia soon after swearing his second affidavit — Consideration of whether the Court should make an order permitting the Plaintiffs to use those affidavits pursuant to r 35.2(3) of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) — Second affidavit sworn so close in time to diagnosis that the First Plaintiff's cognitive function is likely to have been seriously affected — Plaintiffs only permitted to use the first affidavit, but limited weight given to that affidavit EVIDENCE — Witness evidence — Cross-examination — Rule in Browne v Dunn (1893) 6 R 67 — Submissions involving assertions of fact not put to the Defendant in cross-examination Legislation Cited: Evidence Act 1995 (NSW) Mental Health Act 2007 (NSW) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) Cases Cited: 3WJ Pty Ltd and Anor v Kanj [2008] NSWCA 321 Allied Pastoral Holdings Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [1983] 1 NSWLR 1 Amit Laundry Pty Ltd v Jain [2017] NSWSC 1495 Anderson v McPherson [No 2] [2012] WASC 19 Binetter v Dunkel (NSWSC unreported 28 May 1993) Bloch v Bloch (1981) 180 CLR 390 Bridgewater v Leahy (1988) 194 CLR 457 Brown v Brown (1993) 31 NSWLR 582 Browne v Dunn (1893) 6 R 67 Cairns v Cairns [2006] NSWSC 364 Calderone v Perpetual Trustees Victoria Limited [2008] VSC 373 Calverley v Green (1984) 155 CLR 242 Charles Marshall Pty Ltd v Grimsley (1956) 95 CLR 353 Commissioner of Taxation v Bosanac (No 7) [2021] FCA 249 Condos v Clycut Pty Ltd [2009] NSWCA 200 Cone v Burch [2010] NSWCA 168 Davis v Council of the City of Wagga [2004] NSWCA 34 Dumper v Dumper (1862) 3 Giff 583 Flourentzou v Spink [2019] NSWCA 315 Fulton v Fulton [2014] NSWSC 619 Ghazal v Government Insurance Office of New South Wales (1992) 29 NSWLR 336 Hatzantonis v Lawrence [2003] NSWSC 914 Jain v Amit Laundry Pty Ltd [2019] NSWCA 20 Lithgow City Council v Jackson (2011) 244 CLR 352 Martin v Martin (1959) 110 CLR 297 Mason v Demasi [2009] NSWCA 227 Mastronardi v State of New South Wales [2009] NSWCA 270 Mekhail v Hana; Mekail v Hana [2019] NSWCA 197 Napier v Public Trustee (Western Australia) (1980) 32 ALR 153 Nelson v Nelson (1995) 184 CLR 538 Newnham v Wakefield [2002] NSWSC 1152 Pullicino v Burden's Plumbing (Vic) Pty Ltd [2019] VSCA 88 Reid v Kerr (1974) 9 SASR 367 Royal Melbourne Hospital v Equity Trustees Ltd (2007) 18 VR 469 Russell Caldar v Public Trustee of NSW (Supreme Court of New South Wales, 27 October 2004, unreported) Saravinovska v Saravinovski (No 5) [2015] NSWSC 128 Schweitzer v Schweitzer [2010] VSC 543 Seymour v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1977) 19 NSWLR 219 Strong v Woolworths Ltd (2012) 246 CLR 182 Sze Tu v Lowe (2014) 89 NSWLR 317 Woodley v Woodley [2018] WASC 333 Texts Cited: Brendan Edgeworth, Butt's Land Law (7th ed, 2017, Thomson Reuters) J D Heydon, Cross on Evidence (looseleaf, LexisNexis) Category: Principal judgment Parties: Hans-Egon Bruno Bernhard Metzner (First Plaintiff) Rita Elisabeth Metzner (Second Plaintiff) Jaqueline Metzner (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Ms M Fraser (Plaintiffs)