Inner West Council v Sheree Waks

The case of Inner West Council v Sheree Waks was heard before the Supreme Court of New South Wales, presided over by Justice Beech-Jones. The dispute centred on the Inner West Council's application to enforce a covenant, seeking to compel the defendant, Sheree Waks, to remove a structure from her property. The council argued that the structure contravened a restrictive covenant, which stipulated that no buildings exceeding a certain height could be erected on the property.

The legal issues in the case involved the interpretation and enforcement of the restrictive covenant. Specifically, the court needed to determine whether the covenant was valid, whether the structure in question breached the terms of the covenant, and whether enforcement was appropriate. The defendant contended that the covenant had expired and was therefore unenforceable, and further argued that any enforcement would be inequitable due to the council's delay in taking action.

Justice Beech-Jones found that the covenant was indeed valid and enforceable. The court held that the covenant had not expired as per the terms of the agreement and that the structure in question did indeed contravene the covenant's height restriction. The court also dismissed the defendant's argument regarding inequity, concluding that the council's delay did not negate the enforceability of the covenant. Consequently, the court ruled in favour of the council and ordered the defendant to remove the structure from her property.