TOMARK PTY LTD and Ors v BELLEVUE CRESCENT PTY LTD and Ors [1999] NSWCA 347

New South Wales Court of Appeal CITATION : TOMARK PTY LTD and Ors v BELLEVUE CRESCENT PTY LTD and Ors [1999] NSWCA 347 FILE NUMBER(S) : CA 40211/98 HEARING DATE(S) : 27 August 1999 JUDGMENT DATE : 28 September 1999

Tomark Pty Ltd (1st Appellant) Mod and Disposals Stores Pty Ltd (2nd Appellant) Marland Holdings Pty Ltd (3rd Appellant) PARTIES : Bellevue Crescent Pty Ltd (1st Respondent) 50 York Properties Pty Ltd (2nd Respondent) Council of The City of Sydney (3rd Respondent) The Hospitals Contribution Fund of Australia Ltd (4th Respondent) JUDGMENT OF : Priestley JA at 1; Beazley JA at 4; Stein JA at 5

LOWER COURT JURISDICTION : Supreme Court - Equity Division LOWER COURT FILE NUMBER(S) : EQ 1735/97 LOWER COURT JUDICIAL OFFICER : Young J

G Downes QC/M H Southwick (Appellants) J E Armfeld (1st Respondent) COUNSEL : Excused Appearance (2nd Respondent) B A Coles QC/Dr J Renwick (3rd Respondent) J Needham (4th Respondent) Tribe, Conway & Co (Appellants) Aequitas (1st Respondent) SOLICITORS : Dexter Healey (2nd Respondent) Abbott Tout (3rd Respondent) Murphy & Moloney with Pryor Tzannes & Walls (4th Respondent) CATCHWORDS : EQUITY - construction of Alignment of Streets Act 1834 - whether laneway deemed to be dedicated to the public - Deed of Partition - middle of the road rule; EVIDENCE - s 79 Evidence Act - 'wholly or substantially based' Alignment of Sydney Streets Act 1834, s 3 City of Sydney Corporation Act 1879 ACTS CITED : Evidence Act 1995 Sydney Corporation Act 1850, ss 90, 92 SCR Pt 51 r 23 Attorney General v The City Bank of Sydney (1920) 20 SR (NSW) 216 Bugg v Day (1949) 79 CLR 442 Chilcotin Pty Ltd v Cenelage Pty Ltd [1999] NSWCA 11 CASES CITED: Newington v Windeyer (1985) 3 NSWLR 555 Permanent Trustee Co of NSW Ltd v Campbelltown Corporation (1960) 105 CLR 401 Quick v Stoland Pty Ltd (1998) 157 ALR 615 Water Board v Moustakas (1988) 180 CLR 1 DECISION : Appeal dismissed with costs