Feiglin v Ainsworth (No 2)

The case of Feiglin v Ainsworth (No 2) involved an appeal against a summary judgment that was granted to the first defendant on certain claims made. The claims involved allegations of a constructive trust, which the first defendant argued were time-barred. The Supreme Court of Victoria was tasked with determining the legal issues surrounding the application of time limits on the claims and whether fraudulent concealment could extend these limits. The court had to consider the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2005 (Vic), r 77.06, and the Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic), ss 5(2) and (8), 21(1)(b), 27, alongside the Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic), ss 63, 64. The central issue was whether the limitation periods for claims had been extended due to the alleged fraudulent concealment of the elements of the cause of action by the defendant.

The court analysed whether there was a constructive trust that could be claimed, distinguishing between institutional and non-institutional constructive trusts. It was determined that the claim was for a non-institutional constructive trust, and as such, the ordinary time limits applied. The court further examined when the limitation periods began to run and whether they could be postponed due to fraudulent concealment. It was established that the claimant was aware of the essential elements of the cause of action from approximately the mid-1990s. Given this knowledge, the court concluded that the limitation periods could not be postponed beyond this time. The court held that the claims were indeed time-barred as they were brought well beyond the statutory limitation periods.

In conclusion, the court upheld the summary judgment in favour of the first defendant on the claims that were found to be time-barred. The appeal was dismissed, and the claimant was ordered to pay the first defendant's costs of the appeal. The court's decision underscored the importance of adhering to statutory limitation periods and the lack of applicability of fraudulent concealment to extend these periods once the claimant has sufficient knowledge of the cause of action.