Chen v Gu; Chen v Nguyen [2011] NSWSC 1622

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Chen v Gu; Chen v Nguyen [2011] NSWSC 1622 Hearing dates: 22-26, 29-31 August; 1-2, 5 September; 15-16 November 2011 Decision date: 15 December 2011 Jurisdiction: Equity Division Before: Rein J Decision: 1. First defendant in the 2007 proceedings and the defendant in the 2009 proceedings liable to the plaintiff for the amount of $235,514.93. 2. Claim by the plaintiff against the second defendant in the 2007 proceedings stood over. Catchwords: REAL PROPERTY - where as part of their divorce settlement in the Family Court, the plaintiff (husband) and the first defendant (wife) were confirmed as tenants-in-common in equal shares of a unit and they were both named as owners on the certificate of title - where the first defendant sold the unit without the knowledge or consent of the plaintiff and forged the plaintiff's signature on the contract of sale, the transfer and two authorities which purported to authorise her to act on the plaintiff's behalf in relation to the sale and also to receive all of the net proceeds of sale - where the first defendant alleges an oral agreement whereby the plaintiff agreed to give her his half-interest in the unit in return for her relinquishing her alleged interest in another property and the first defendant also alleges that the sale occurred with the knowledge and consent of her ex-husband and that he authorised her to sign his name on the conveyance documents - issues of credit of witnesses - whether there was an agreement between the plaintiff and the first defendant that the plaintiff would pay money to the first defendant periodically in relation to a partnership business that they ran together which was subsequently run solely by the plaintiff - where the plaintiff also brings an action against the Registrar-General seeking compensation from the Torrens Assurance Fund for the loss of his interest in the unit