Rance v Dempsey

The case of Rance v Dempsey involved a dispute over the ownership of a property held in joint names. The parties to the case were the applicant, Rance, who claimed an interest in the property, and Dempsey, the deceased, who was the other joint owner of the property. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The central issue in the case was whether a resulting trust existed over the property in favour of Rance, due to unequal contributions to the purchase price.

The legal issue before the court was whether the onus was on Rance to prove that a resulting trust existed, or whether Dempsey had the burden of proving that no such trust existed. The court considered whether the presumption of a resulting trust could be rebutted by evidence of a common intention to hold the property as tenants in common. The court also considered whether Dempsey had successfully rebutted the presumption of a resulting trust.

The court found that the presumption of a resulting trust could not be rebutted by evidence of a common intention to hold the property as tenants in common, as there was no evidence of any such intention. The court held that the onus was on Rance to prove that a resulting trust existed, and that Dempsey had successfully rebutted the presumption of a resulting trust by providing evidence of his contributions to the purchase price. The court found that there was no resulting trust over the property in favour of Rance. As a result, Rance’s application for the appointment of a representative of Dempsey’s estate was dismissed.