Keats and Reeves (No. 2)

In *Keats and Reeves (No. 2)*, Le Poer Trench J of the Family Court of Australia made orders concerning the division and sale of matrimonial property and the conduct of related proceedings. The dispute involved a husband and wife, with the wife also being referred to as the second respondent in some contexts. The court was required to determine how to manage and distribute several properties, including a vacant block of land, a home, and two other parcels, and to address ongoing litigation in both Australia and the United Kingdom.

The court was required to determine the immediate possession of the matrimonial home, the management and sale of various properties, and the distribution of sale proceeds. Furthermore, the court needed to consider the implications of separate divorce and related proceedings initiated by the wife in the United Kingdom and the husband's divorce application in Australia, including the appropriateness of an anti-suit injunction. The court also had to address the potential for either party to obstruct the execution of its orders.

Le Poer Trench J applied section 66G of the *Conveyancing Act 1919* (NSW) to appoint the husband and Timothy Somerville as trustees for the sale of the specified properties. The reasoning involved placing the properties on the statutory trust for sale, with the trustees directed to sell them as soon as reasonably possible. The proceeds of sale were to be distributed in a specific order: first, to discharge specified loans from the National Australia Bank, then to repay a $1,500,000 loan secured against the properties, and finally, the balance was to be retained by the husband's solicitors pending further court orders. The court also made orders restraining the wife from encumbering or disposing of the vacant land and from removing contents from the matrimonial home without consent. A Writ of Possession was issued to enforce the wife's vacating of the matrimonial home, with provisions for its activation if she failed to comply. Additionally, the wife was restrained from continuing UK proceedings, and the husband was temporarily restrained from proceeding with his Australian divorce application, pending further orders.

The court made orders for the wife to vacate the matrimonial home within 14 days, granting the husband sole use and occupation. The husband was given responsibility for repairs to the home for sale, with costs up to $100,000 to be reimbursed from sale proceeds. The court appointed trustees for the sale of four properties and outlined the priority for the distribution of sale proceeds, including the discharge of specified bank loans and a significant loan secured by the wife. The court also issued an anti-suit injunction restraining the wife from continuing UK proceedings and temporarily stayed the husband's Australian divorce application. A Writ of Possession was authorised to enforce the wife's vacating of the matrimonial home.