Al Maha Pty Ltd v Bechara [2022] NSWSC 1709

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Al Maha Pty Ltd v Bechara [2022] NSWSC 1709 Hearing dates: 1 December 2022 Date of orders: 1 December 2022 Decision date: 01 December 2022 Jurisdiction: Equity - Duty List Before: Meek J Decision: Freezing orders declined; ex parte interlocutory injunction granted Catchwords: CIVIL PROCEDURE — Application for freezing orders arising out of joint venture arrangement between the plaintiffs or second plaintiff and the deceased husband of the first defendant relating to various properties — Claim that the deceased sold the property without knowledge or permission of plaintiffs — Following discovery of the sale an arrangement was reached for a reconciliation and payments to the plaintiffs were made in April 2019 — Plaintiffs commenced proceedings in July 2021 and subsequently seek to obtain information in relation to entitlements — Plaintiffs recently obtain information regarding the joint venture funds and claim their alleged entitlements are more substantial than previously thought and claim that the first defendant has sought to dissipate monies by transfer from one bank account to another account CIVIL PROCEDURE — Claim for freezing orders declined — Injunctive relief granted CIVIL PROCEDURE — Subpoenas — Issue of a specific subpoena permitted to facilitate determination of utility of further relief Legislation Cited: Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) Category: Procedural rulings Parties: Al Maha Pty Ltd (First Plaintiff / First Applicant) Antoine Bechara (Second Plaintiff / Second Applicant) Natasha Bechara in her capacity as Administrator of the Estate of the Late Raymond Bechara (First Defendant / First Respondent) Broughton Road Investments Pty Ltd (Second Defendant / Second Respondent) Representation: Counsel: J Knackstredt (Plaintiffs / Applicants) No appearance (First Defendant / First Respondent) No appearance (Second Defendant / Second Respondent)