McGowan and Hahn

In *McGowan and Hahn*, the Supreme Court of Queensland considered a dispute between two parties concerning the ownership and entitlement to a property. The specific nature of the dispute involved competing claims arising from a prior agreement and subsequent actions related to the property.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether a constructive trust had arisen over the property in favour of one party, and if so, what the terms of that trust should be. The Court also had to determine the extent of the equitable interests of each party in the property, considering the contributions made by each and the circumstances surrounding their acquisition and management of the property.

Justice Harman found that a constructive trust had indeed arisen, based on the principles of unconscionability and the parties' common intention regarding the property. The Court applied established equitable principles concerning resulting and constructive trusts, examining the conduct of the parties, their financial contributions, and the overall context of their dealings. The reasoning focused on preventing one party from unconscionably retaining the benefit of the property to the detriment of the other. The Court ultimately made orders to give effect to the established equitable interests.