IMBARDELLI & IMBARDELLI

The parties to this proceeding were the Imbardelli family (the Imbardellis) and the Imbardelli family trust (the Trust). The dispute concerned the proper construction of a deed of trust and the extent of the Imbardellis' beneficial interests in the Trust. The matter came before Macmillan J of the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

The central legal issue before the Court was to determine the meaning and effect of clause 10 of the deed of trust, which stipulated that the trustees were to hold the trust property for the benefit of the Imbardellis in such shares and proportions as the trustees should from time to time determine. The Court was required to ascertain whether this clause conferred an absolute discretion on the trustees to vary the beneficiaries' interests or whether it merely allowed for the apportionment of existing interests.

Macmillan J reasoned that the language of clause 10, particularly the phrase "in such shares and proportions as the trustees shall from time to time determine," indicated a power to allocate and reallocate the beneficial interests among the named beneficiaries. His Honour held that this conferred a discretionary power on the trustees, not merely a power to apportion fixed interests. The Court applied principles of trust law concerning the construction of discretionary trusts, emphasising the importance of the express wording of the trust instrument in defining the scope of trustees' powers.

The Court made declarations regarding the construction of the deed of trust, finding that the trustees possessed a discretionary power to determine the shares and proportions of the beneficiaries.