May v Costaras

[2025] NSWCA 178

Court of Appeal

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation:

May v Costaras [2025] NSWCA 178

Hearing dates:

30 July 2025

Date of orders:

8 August 2025

Decision date:

08 August 2025

Before:

Bell CJ at [1];
Payne JA at [18];
McHugh JA at [95]

Decision:

(1) Appeal dismissed.

(2) Appellant to pay the respondent’s costs.

Catchwords:

EQUITY — Trusts — Resulting trust - whether primary judge wrongly failed to apply presumption that appellant did not intend respondent to obtain beneficial interest in property – whether respondent’s legal interest subject to purchase money resulting trust

EQUITY — Trusts — Constructive trust — joint endeavour constructive trust — de facto relationship — relationship broken down —investment property purchased in co-ownership as joint tenants — whether primary judge erred in characterising scope of the joint endeavour — whether the primary judge erred in determining beneficial entitlements of two thirds for appellant and one third for respondent — whether appellant entitled to larger beneficial interest

APPEALS — From finding of fact — Documentary evidence — text messages between the appellant and respondent — whether primary judge erred in making factual findings having regard to contemporaneous written records

APPEALS — From finding of fact — Credibility of witnesses — whether primary judge erred in assessing respondent’s credit

UNREPRESENTED LITIGANTS – Use of Generative AI – Hallucinated case reference – irrelevant case references – where Generative AI used to prepare script for oral submissions – where oral submissions so generated misconceived or irrelevant

Legislation Cited:

Uniform Civil Procedural Rules 2005 (NSW)

Cases Cited:

Ayinde v The London Borough of Haringey [2025] EWHC 1383 (Admin)

Baumgartner v Baumgartner (1987) 164 CLR 137; [1987] HCA 59

Burragubba v State of Queensland (2016) 151 ALD 471; [2016] FCA 984

Fox v Percy (2003) 214 CLR 118; [2003] HCA 22

Joudo v Joudo [2024] NSWCA 258

Lee v Lee (2019) 266 CLR 129; [2019] HCA 28

Mohareb v Saratoga Marine Pty Ltd [2020] NSWCA 235

Muschinski v Dodds (1985) 160 CLR 583; [1985] HCA 78

Olsen v Finansiel Stabilitet A/S [2025] EWHC 42Vernon v Bosley (No 2) [1999] QB 18

Zzaman v Commissioners for His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs [2025] UKFTT 00539

Texts Cited:

Jacobs’ Law of Trusts in Australia (5th ed, Butterworths)

Category:

Principal judgment

Parties:

Michael May (Appellant)
Lily Costaras (Respondent)

Representation:

Counsel:
B Phillips (Appellant)
Self-represented (Respondent)

Solicitors:
Proctor Phair Lawyers (Appellant)
Self-represented (Respondent)

File Number(s):

2025/129141

Publication restriction:

None

 Decision under appeal 

Court or tribunal:

Supreme Court

Jurisdiction:

Equity

Citation:

[2025] NSWSC 90

Date of Decision:

25 February 2025

Before:

Lindsay J

File Number(s):

2022/321875

HEADNOTE

[This headnote is not to be read as part of the judgment]

This matter concerns an investment property in Scott Street in Maryborough in Queensland (the “Scott Street property”), which is owned by the appellant, Michael May, and the respondent, Lila Costaras, as joint tenants.

The parties met in November 2020. They resided in the respondent’s rented Eastwood residence from about 10 January…