Duke Unley Pty Ltd (ACN 080 195 606) v The Corporation of the City of Unley

Duke Unley Pty Ltd (ACN 080 195 606) sought a declaration that the carpark land owned by the Corporation of the City of Unley was dedicated as a public place or subject to a trust such that it could not be alienated. The dispute between the adjoining landowners and the council centred on the council's authority to dispose of the carpark land. The key legal issues involved determining whether the presentation of a memorial by ratepayers, the council's acceptance of the memorial, and the levying of a separate rate could create a trust or dedication affecting the carpark land. The court examined whether these statutory procedures could impose restrictions on the council's power to dispose of the land.

The court concluded that the statutory scheme for levying a separate rate under the Local Government Act 1934 (SA) was not intended to create a trust or dedication of the land in question. The court found that the carpark land was not subject to a trust or dedication until the post office land was classified as community land under the Local Government (Community Land) Act 1999 (SA), which occurred in 2016. The court emphasised that the four events relied upon by the plaintiffs occurred before the council acquired the post office land. Therefore, the court held that the statutory procedure could not create a trust or dedication affecting the carpark land. The court also found that even if the memorial land was subject to a trust or dedication, the amalgamation of that land with the post office land in 2002 meant that the trust or dedication did not extend to the entire carpark land.

The court dismissed the plaintiffs' application and ordered the parties to confer on the issue of costs. The decision hinged on the interpretation of the statutory scheme and the timing of the events that the plaintiffs relied upon to argue for a trust or dedication over the carpark land. The court's reasoning focused on the legislative intent behind the ratepayer memorial process and the factual context in which the carpark land came into being.