Friar and Friar and Anor

In *Friar and Friar and Anor* [2013] FamCA 121, the Family Court of Australia considered a wife's claim for a declaration of sole ownership of a property registered in the names of her husband and his sister. The property had been sold, and the wife asserted a joint endeavour between herself, her husband, and his sister, which she contended established her and her husband as the owners. Alternatively, she claimed she was induced by statements from the husband and his sister to believe she had a beneficial interest in the property and acted to her detriment in reliance on those statements.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether a joint endeavour existed that would grant the wife a beneficial interest in the property, and alternatively, whether the wife's reliance on ambiguous statements from the husband and his sister, to her detriment, gave rise to an equitable interest. The Court was required to determine if the wife's claims for a declaration of ownership and equitable relief could be substantiated based on the evidence presented.

Justice Murphy dismissed the wife's claim for a declaration of ownership and her claims for equitable relief. The Court found that the evidence did not establish a joint endeavour or a common intention between the parties regarding ownership of the property. Furthermore, the statements alleged by the wife to have induced her to act to her detriment were found to be unclear and ambiguous, failing to meet the threshold for establishing an equitable interest.

Consequently, the wife's claim for a declaration pursuant to s 78 of the *Family Law Act 1975* (Cth) was dismissed. Any claims for equitable relief were also dismissed. The Court ordered that the wife's claim for relief pursuant to s 79 of the Act be listed for mention, with directions for the parties to confer on further submissions regarding recent High Court decisions and the requirements of s 79, including the derivation of interests, contributions, and the justice and equity of any proposed orders.