Tadros v Shoushani [2021] NSWSC 1673

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Tadros v Shoushani [2021] NSWSC 1673 Hearing dates: 15 December 2021 Date of orders: 15 December 2021 Decision date: 15 December 2021 Jurisdiction: Equity - Duty List Before: Kunc J Decision: Orders varied Catchwords: JUDGMENTS AND ORDERS — Amending, varying and setting aside — Varying consent orders appointing trustees for sale to permit sale by private treaty — No issue of principle Category: Principal judgment Parties: Terence Hartmann (First Applicant) Peter Castanos (Second Applicant) Camellia Tadros (Administrator of the Estate of Souad Shoushani) (Plaintiff and First Respondent) Tony Shoushani (Second Respondent) George Shoushani (Third Respondent) Robert Shoushani (Defendant and Fourth Respondent) Maroun Shoushani (Fifth Respondent) Representation: Appearances:

C D Wood SC (Applicants) J Pope (Solicitor) (Defendant and Fourth Respondent)

Solicitors:

Hartmann & Associates (Applicants) Shad Partners (Plaintiff and First Respondent) Pope & Spinks Solicitors (Defendant and Fourth Respondent) File Number(s): 2018/132531 Publication restriction: No

EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT (REVISED)

Summary 1. The applicants (the Trustees) are court-appointed trustees for sale of 83 and 85 XXX Road, Greenacre (the Properties, or 83 and 85 respectively). They were appointed as part of the settlement of three sets of proceedings concerning the estate of the late Souad Shoshani (the Estate) in accordance with consent orders made by Slattery J on 3 March 2021 (the Orders and, in what follows, a reference to a particular order is a reference to one of the Orders). 2. One of the beneficiaries of the Estate is the defendant, Robert Shoushani, to whom I shall refer without disrespect by his given name. The Properties are registered in his name although, as a consequence of the settlement of the proceedings, orders have been made to the effect that he has no equitable interest in the Properties and is the bare legal trustee of them for the Estate. 3. In contravention of an order that he vacate by 3 May 2021, Robert remains in occupation of 85. The order appointing the Trustees provided that the Properties should be sold by public auction. That has not occurred, largely because of Robert's failure to vacate. The Properties, as their street numbers suggest, are adjoining and the Trustees have in the meantime entered into contracts to sell the Properties by private treaty to the owner of 87 XXX Road, Greenacre (87) subject to "the approval of the Court", which in practical terms means the Court varying the Orders to permit sale by private treaty. 4. The Trustees have brought the present amended notice of motion to vary the Orders to permit sale by private treaty. All the beneficiaries of the Estate consent to that relief except for Robert. At the conclusion of argument shortly before the luncheon adjournment I made the orders set out at the end of these reasons. For the reasons which follow, the Court varied the Orders to permit the contracted sales of the Properties to be completed. 5. Mr C D Wood of Senior Counsel appeared for the Trustees. Mr J Pope, Solicitor, appeared for Robert.