Galaxidis & Anor v Galaxidis

The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia heard an appeal in *Galaxidis & Anor v Galaxidis*. The appeal concerned a dispute between a father and his two sons regarding the ownership of shares in a company. The sons alleged that their father had wrongfully retained shares that rightfully belonged to them.

The primary legal issues before the Full Court were whether the primary judge had erred in finding that the father held the shares on trust for his sons, and consequently, whether the father was liable to account to the sons for the value of those shares. The Court was required to consider the nature of the alleged trust, the evidence supporting its existence, and the principles governing the tracing of trust property.

The Full Court overturned the primary judge's decision, finding that the evidence did not establish the existence of a trust. Their Honours, McHugh and Heydon JJ, reasoned that the sons had failed to demonstrate that the father had intended to create a trust over the shares. The Court emphasised that for a trust to be established, there must be clear evidence of an intention to create a trust, certainty of subject matter, and certainty of object. In this instance, the Court found that the transactions concerning the shares were more consistent with a loan or a gift that had not been fully completed, rather than an express trust.

Consequently, the Full Court ordered that the appeal be allowed and the orders of the primary judge be set aside. The Court further ordered that the sons' application for an account of profits be dismissed.