Bant v Bant

In the case of Bant v Bant, the Supreme Court of Western Australia was tasked with determining whether a property, located at 23 Quarry Street, Fremantle, was partnership property. The plaintiffs, Baden William Bant and Rex Donald Bant as executors of the Estate of Joyce Eileen Bant, sought a declaration regarding the ownership of the property. The first defendant, Baden William Bant, contended that the property was partnership property, while the second defendant, Sharon Joy Thompson, argued that the property belonged to the co-owners in their own right. The court had to decide whether the property was partnership property, or if it belonged to the co-owners individually.

The court considered the legal principles surrounding partnership property, including the onus of proof resting on the party claiming that the property was partnership property. It also examined the evidence provided by the parties, such as the partnership accounts and the Deed of Partnership. The court concluded that the partners regarded the Quarry Street property as a partnership asset, and found that on the balance of probabilities, the property was indeed partnership property.

As a result, the court declared that the property was partnership property. This decision had implications for the distribution of the partnership's assets upon dissolution, as well as the distribution of Joyce Eileen Bant's estate.