Chan v Valmorbida Custodians Pty Ltd

In the case of Chan v Valmorbida Custodians Pty Ltd, the applicant, Chan, sought an order for inspection of documents held by the respondent, Valmorbida Custodians, as the trustee of several trusts. Chan alleged breaches of trust by Valmorbida Custodians and sought the inspection to investigate these claims. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The applicant's primary contention was that the trustees had provided limited and piecemeal disclosure of trust documents, which was insufficient for meaningful scrutiny of the administration of the trusts. Chan argued that as a beneficiary, he had a proprietary right to inspect the trust documents and that the court should exercise its supervisory jurisdiction over the trustees to compel full disclosure.

The legal issues before the court included whether the applicant's right to inspect trust documents was a proprietary right, and if so, whether the court had a discretion to grant such an order under its supervisory jurisdiction. The court considered whether the trustees' limited disclosure was adequate and whether further inspection was necessary to address the applicant's concerns about potential breaches of trust. The court also examined the precedents set by O’Rourke v Darbishire, Schmidt v Rosewood Trust Ltd, Deutsch v Trumble, and Erceg v Erceg to determine the appropriate course of action.

The court concluded that the applicant did have a proprietary right to inspect the trust documents, which was not merely a discretionary matter for the court to decide. Given the trustees' piecemeal disclosure and the applicant's allegations of breaches of trust, the court found that an order for inspection was necessary to enable meaningful scrutiny of the administration of the trusts. The court exercised its supervisory jurisdiction to grant the application and made orders for inspection to ensure that the trustees provided comprehensive and complete disclosure of the trust documents. These orders aimed to protect the interests of the beneficiaries and ensure that the trustees were properly fulfilling their fiduciary duties.