Gerard Cassegrain & Co Pty Ltd v Cassegrain

The appeal before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales concerned a dispute over the ownership of several properties registered under the Torrens title system. The parties involved were Gerard Cassegrain & Co Pty Ltd (the appellant) and Felicity Cassegrain (the respondent). The core of the dispute revolved around allegations of fraud in the acquisition of title to these properties.

The court was required to determine whether the indefeasibility of title provisions under the *Real Property Act 1900* could be defeated by the alleged fraud. Specifically, the court considered whether the fraud of one joint tenant in the taking of title could affect the other joint tenant, particularly in circumstances where the fraudulent joint tenant later transferred their interest to the other. The court also had to consider whether the appellant was entitled to recover possession of the land under section 118(1)(d) of the *Real Property Act 1900* as a person deprived of land by fraud, and whether principles of issue estoppel applied given previous proceedings.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, setting aside previous orders. The court reasoned that the fraud of one joint tenant, in this instance, could indeed affect the other joint tenant's title, especially when that interest was subsequently transferred. The court found that Felicity Cassegrain held the properties on trust for Gerard Cassegrain & Co Pty Ltd. Consequently, the court ordered that Felicity Cassegrain execute transfers of the properties to Gerard Cassegrain & Co Pty Ltd and pay the appellant's costs of both the trial and the appeal.