Helou v Nguyen (with Addendum) [2014] NSWSC 22

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Helou v Nguyen (with Addendum) [2014] NSWSC 22 Hearing dates: 14-18 and 21-23 October and 23 December 2013 and (in relation to orders published in an addendum) 7, 12 and 17 February 2014 Decision date: 05 February 2014 Jurisdiction: Equity Division Before: Lindsay J Decision: Orders made designed to give effect to a determination that the first defendant stole money from the plaintiffs and, at least in part, applied stolen money in the acquisition and development of property in the names of the defendants jointly Catchwords: PROPERTY - Theft - Stolen money - Remedies at law and in equity - Action for damages in conversion and for moneys had and received - Suit for Constructive Trust in Equity - Need for consistency - Interests of Justice REMEDY - Remedies based on compensation for Plaintiff's loss or accounting for wrongdoer's gain - Consistency of remedy required - Interests of Justice EQUITY - Trusts and trustees - Constructive trust TORTS - Trover and Detinue - Action for conversion - Remedies - Waiver of Tort - Damages - Money had and received Legislation Cited: Civil Procedure Act 2005 NSW Evidence Act 1995 NSW, s 140 Money-Lenders Act 1900 (UK), 63 and 64 Victoria chapter 51 5 William IV No 10 (the Rate of Interest (Forbes's) Act 1834 NSW) Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 NSW Cases Cited: ANZ Banking Group v Westpac Banking Corporation (1988) 164 CLR 662 at 672-673 Asim v Penrose [2010] NSWCA 366 at [140]-[143] Australian Hardboards Limited v Hudson Investment Group Limited (2007) 70 NSWLR 201 at 213 [50] - 221 [77] Bathurst City Council v PWC Properties Pty Limited (1998) 195 CLR 566 at 585 [42] Baumgartner v Baumgartner (1987) 164 CLR 137 at 148; Black v S Freeman and Company (1910) 12 CLR 105 Bridgewater v Leah (1998) 194 CLR 457 at 493-494 Briginshaw v Briginshaw (1938) 60 CLR 336 at 343-344 and 360-363 Castles v Freidman (1910) 11 CLR 580 at 590-591 Commonwealth of Australia v The Official Trustee in Bankruptcy as the Trustee of Property of Stephen Vasil [2004] NSWSC 1155 at [21] Commonwealth v SCI Operations Pty Limited (1998) 192 CLR 285 at 316 Cory Bros & Co Limited v Owners of Turkish Steamship "Mecca" [1897] AC 286 at 293-294 Creak v James Moore & Sons Pty Limited (1912) 15 CLR 426 at 432 Cultus Petroleum v OMV Australia [1999] NSWSC 435 at [2] Deeley v Lloyds Bank Limited [1912] AC 756 at 783-784 Degman Pty Limited (In Liq) v Wright (No 2) [1983] 2 NSWLR 354 at 358 Delaforce v Simpson-Cook (2010) 78 NSWLR 483 at 494 [57] and [60]-[61] Diemasters Pty Limited v Meadowcorp Pty Limited (2001) 52 NSWLR 572 at 579-580 [17], 580 [17] Farrah Constructions Pty Limited v Say-Dee Pty Limited (2007) 230 CLR 89 Forgegard v Shanahan (1994) 35 NSWLR 206 at 221F-224F Foskett v McKeown [2001] 1 AC 102 at 128 Fountain Selected Meats (Sales) Pty Limited v International Produce Merchants Pty Limited (1988) 81 ALR 397 at 401 Gerard Cassegrain & Co Pty Limited v Felicity Cassegrain [2013] NSWCA 453 at [53] (read with [2011] NSWSC 1156 at [161]) and [156]-[157] and [159] Giumelli v Giumelli (1999) 196 CLR 101 at 111 [2] - 112 [4] and 113 - 114 [10]. Heperu Pty Limited v Belle (2009) 76 NSWLR 230 at 252 [89], 253 [92], 265-266 [154] and 267-268 [163]; 260 [127] and 263 [142]-268 [163] Hungerfords v Walker (1990) 171 CLR 125 at 148 Income Tax Commissioner v Maharajadhiraj of Darbhanga (1933) LR 60 IND App 146 at 157 In Re Diplock [1948] Ch 465 at 517 and 557-558 J & H Just (Holdings) Pty Limited v Bank of NSW (1971) 125 CLR 546 Kinarra Pty Limited v Crawford [2006] VSC 309 at [83] Latec Investments Limited v Hotel Terrigal Pty Limited (In Liquidation) (1965) 113 CLR 265 Lipkin Gorman v Karpnale Limited [1991] 2 AC 548 at 559 Maguire v Makaronis (1997) 188 CLR 449 at 469 McDonald v Levy (1833) 1 Legge 39; [1833] NSWSupC 47 Nominal Defendant v McLennan [2012] NSWCA 148 at [139]-[140] Penfolds Wines Pty Limited v Elliott (1946) 74 CLR 204 at 229 Peter Butt, Land Law (Law Book Co, 6th ed, 2010), paras [14.05]-[14.09] R v Curtis; ex parte Attorney-General [1988] 1 Qd R 546 at 548 and 551 Re Dawson [1966] 2 NSWR 211; 84WN (Pt 1) (NSW) 399 Re Global Finance Group Pty Limited (2002) 26 WAR 385 at 406 [94] Robb Evans of Robb Evans & Associates v European Bank Limited (2004) 61 NSWLR 75 at 103 [131] - 105 [148] Rouse v Sheppard (No 2) (1994) 35 NSWLR 277 at 279-282 Royal Insurance Co Ltd v Mylius (1926) 38 CLR 477 at 497 Sadcas Pty Limited v Business and Professional Finance Pty Limited [2011] NSWCA 267 at [42] and [83] Samuel v Newbold [1906] AC 461 at 471-474 Scott v Scott (1964) 109 CLR 649 at 660-662 and 664 Sinclair v Brougham [1914] AC 398 at 418-419 United Australia Limited v Barclays Bank Limited [1941] AC 1 Vadasz v Pioneer Concrete (SA) Pty Limited (1995) 184 CLR 102 at 113-114 Warman International Limited v Dwyer (1995) 182 CLR 544 at 559 Wright v Gibbons (1948) 78 CLR 313 at 330-331 Youyang Pty Limited v Minter Ellison Maurice Fletcher (2003) 212 CLR 484 Texts Cited: JH Baker, An Introduction to English Legal History (Butterworths Lexis Nexis, London, 4th ed, 2002), p 311 n 83 AWB Simpson, A History of the Common Law of Contract: The Rise of the Action of Assumpsit (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1987), p 510 Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, p 454: Holdsworth, A History of English Law, vol 8, 2nd ed, 1937), pp 100-113, esp112; vol 11 (1938), pp 514-516; vol 13 (1952) pp 12, 29, 110-112 and 212-213 Osborn's Concise Law Dictionary (12th edition, 2013) A Smith, The Wealth of Nations; 1st edition, 1776 B Kercher, Debt, Seduction and Other Disasters: The Birth of Civil Law in Convict NSW (Federation Press, Sydney, 1996), pp 141-142 and 171-173 SJ Butlin, The Foundations of the Australian Monetary System, 1788-1851 (Sydney University Press, 1953; 1968 reprint) GW Millard and BA Helmore, The Law of Personal Property in NSW (Law Book Co, Sydney, 5th ed, 1947), pp 310-311 A Oliver, A collection of the statutes of practical utility, colonial and imperial, in force in NSW (NSW Government Printer, Sydney, 1879), vol 2, pp 2485-2486 CH Currey, Sir Francis Forbes (Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1968), chapter 41 Historical Records of Australia, series 1, vol 17, pp 520-537; vol 18, pp 94-95 Tarrant, "Theft principle in private law" (2006) 80 ALJ 531 PW Young, C Croft and ML Smith, On Equity (Law Book Co, Sydney, 2009), paras [2.150] - [2.170], [14.50] - [14.60] and [14.180]. F Jordan, Chapters on Equity in New South Wales (6th ed, 1947), p 15, p 13 Story, Commentaries on Equity Jurisprudence (1st English ed, 1884), paras 26-28, and 31; G Spence, The Equitable Jurisdiction of the Court of Chancery (1846), Vol 1, pp 390-391 W Holdsworth, A History of English Law (3rd ed, 1944) Vol 9, p 338; JN Pomeroy, Equity Jurisprudence (5th ed, 1941), Vol 1, paras 109 and 113-116 Ashburner, Principles of Equity (Butterworth, London, 2nd ed, 1933), pp 38-39, 39-40 RP Meagher, JD Hayden and MJ Leeming (eds), Meagher Gummow & Lehane's Equity: Doctrines and Remedies (Butterworths Lexis Nexis, Australia, 4th ed, 2002), paras [12-035]-[12-045] and [12-055] FW Maitland, Equity (Cambridge University Press, 2nd ed, 1936), pp 7-8, 17 and 19 G Watt, Equity Stiring (Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2009), pp 85, 106-109 and 229 DR Klinck, Conscience, Equity and the Court of Chancery in Early Modern England (Ashgate, 2010) K Handley, The Black v Freedman Trust: Vindicating Proprietary Rights or Remedying Wrongs? in E Bant and M Bryan (ed), Principles of Proprietary Remedies (LBC, Sydney, 2013), ch 7 at pp 122-123 and 125 Halsbury's Laws of England (5th ed), Vol 22 "Contract", para 525 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Mohammed Helou, Janine Helou, Suzanne Helou, Halima Helou, Walid Helou, Nozem Helou and Karia Helou (Plaintiffs)