Re Cleeve Group Pty Ltd

Re Cleeve Group Pty Ltd is a case involving a dispute about the existence and contents of a lost trust deed. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The trustee of the Cleeve family trust applied for judicial advice under the Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 regarding the contents of the trust deed. The trust deed was alleged to have been lost, and there were two competing versions of its contents presented.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether an executed trust deed existed and, if so, what its contents were. The court had to determine whether the trustee had to provide clear and convincing evidence to prove the existence of the deed and its contents. The trustee argued that the trust deed was executed in the form of a draft trust deed, while the other party contended that there was no executed trust deed.

The court found that the executed trust deed existed in the form of the draft trust deed. The court reasoned that the trustee had demonstrated a chain of custody and the circumstances leading to the loss of the deed were compelling. The court also found that the contents of the draft trust deed were the best evidence of the executed deed, as there was no other evidence to contradict it. The court held that clear and convincing evidence was not necessary in this case, as the circumstances and documentary evidence provided by the trustee were sufficient to establish the existence of the executed trust deed and its contents.

The court ordered that the draft trust deed be treated as the executed trust deed for all purposes. The court also ordered that the trustee be permitted to act in accordance with the terms of the draft trust deed.