Menotti and Lamb and Ors

In the matter of *Menotti and Lamb and Ors*, Cronin J made orders concerning the division of assets between a husband and wife. The dispute centred on the sale of a business operated by B Pty Limited and the disposition of a property known as E Street, Suburb E. The court was required to determine how the proceeds from the sale of the business and the property should be distributed, including the order of priority for payments and the ultimate division of the net balance between the parties.

The court's reasoning involved establishing a clear process for the sale of the business, including the nomination and selection of a business broker and solicitors, and setting a framework for determining the sale price. It also addressed the wife's option to retain the Suburb E property at a fixed value, outlining the conditions and financial adjustments required if she exercised this option. The orders specified the order in which various expenses and liabilities, including business creditors, staff obligations, and the wife's taxation liability, were to be paid from the sale proceeds.

The final orders dictated that the husband and wife, as directors of B Pty Limited, were to sell the business forthwith. The proceeds were to be applied first to sale commissions and expenses, then legal expenses, followed by business creditors (including the Australian Taxation Office) and staff obligations. Any remaining balance was to be placed in a trust account. The wife had a period to elect to retain the Suburb E property at a fixed value, with specific conditions regarding its mortgage. If she did not elect to retain the property, it was to be sold, with proceeds applied similarly to the business sale. After these steps, and the payment of the wife's taxation liability, the net balance of the trust account was to be divided, with 65 per cent allocated to the wife and 35 per cent to the husband, after accounting for certain costs. The wife was also ordered to pay the husband's costs of the proceedings.