Kenyon v Akeroyd

In the matter of Kenyon v Akeroyd, the Supreme Court of Victoria was tasked with determining the adjustment of property interests between the parties, who were in a de facto relationship. The central issue was the valuation of differing contributions made by each party to the relationship and the property. The court had to assess the contributions of the parties, particularly the homemaker and carer role of one party, and how these contributions should be valued under Part IX of the Property Law Act 1958 (Vic).

The legal issues before the court included the appropriate method for valuing the homemaker and carer contributions and the court's role in adjusting the property interests of the parties. The court considered whether a global approach to the valuation of contributions was appropriate and whether the contributions should be valued based on commercial rates for services such as cleaning. The court found that it was an error to value the homemaker and carer contributions based on commercial cleaning rates. This error was acknowledged by the party who initially made the valuation error.

The court's reasoning was based on the need for a fair and equitable adjustment of property interests that took into account the shared undertaking of the de facto relationship. The court concluded that a global approach was appropriate and that the contributions of the homemaker and carer should not be valued based on commercial rates. The court also found that the initial adjustment of property interests was flawed due to the valuation error and ordered a new adjustment to be made. This decision ensures that the court's adjustment of property interests is based on a fair and accurate assessment of the contributions made by each party.