Reuben v Lace [2010] NSWLEC 1024

Land and Environment Court of New South Wales

CITATION : Reuben v Lace [2010] NSWLEC 1024

APPLICANT T Reuben PARTIES : RESPONDENTS R & R Lace

FILE NUMBER(S) : 20732 of 2009

CORAM: Moore SC - Fakes C

KEY ISSUES: TREES (NEIGHBOURS) :-

LEGISLATION CITED: Trees (Disputes Between Neighbours) Act 2006

Aon Risk Services Australia Limited v Australian National University [2009] HCA 27 CASES CITED: Yang v Scerri [2007] NSWLEC 592 Black v Johnson (No 2) [2007] NSWLEC 513

DATES OF HEARING: 27 January 2010

EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE : 27 January 2010

APPLICANT In person LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES: RESPONDENTS Ms L Lace, agent

JUDGMENT: THE LAND AND ENVIRONMENT COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES

MOORE SC FAKES C

27 January 2010

20732 of 2009 Reuben v Lace

JUDGMENT

This decision was given as an extemporaneous decision. It has been revised and edited prior to publication. 1 SENIOR COMMISSIONER: In October 2009, Ms Reuben lodged an application with the Court concerning a number of trees located on the adjacent property owned by Mr and Mrs Lace. There are a number of procedural matters that arise that require to be dealt with prior to turning our attention to the merits of the matter.

2 The first of these is that the property is jointly owned by Mr and Mrs Lace and Mrs Lace has been, at all relevant times, a patient in a mental health institution and unable to take any informed part of the court process. When the matter was initially drawn to my attention, at the call-over hearing, Mr Lace was represented by his daughter and it was suggested, at that time, that the question of Mrs Lace's participation would be dealt with at the time of the on-site hearing in light of her then circumstances and whether or not any guardian had been appointed to represent her separate interests in the proceedings.