Scott (Trustee), in the matter of Stolyar (Bankrupt) v Stolyar (No 8)

This case involves a dispute between the Trustee of a bankrupt estate and Mrs Stolyar, with Fanchel Pty Ltd also being a respondent. The Trustee initiated proceedings in 2019, which were heard in 2021, and the court delivered its reasons and made orders on 16 June 2022. The parties were required to confer and provide draft orders to the court. On 6 September 2022, the court issued further declarations and orders, including that Mrs Stolyar held 38.1% of the legal title of the Rose Bay Property on trust for the Trustee, that she received 38.1% of the net sale proceeds of the property as resulting trustee for the Trustee, and that she pay the Trustee 38.1% of the net sale proceeds and pre-judgment interest from 29 April 2020. The court referred the accounting to a Registrar who issued a certificate confirming the net sale proceeds and the amount Mrs Stolyar owed. Mrs Stolyar sought a review of this certificate. The court had to decide whether "net sale proceeds" meant the gross proceeds of sale net of sale costs and settlement adjustments or net of those costs and repayment of all amounts paid by Mrs Stolyar in relation to the purchase of the Rose Bay Property. Mrs Stolyar argued that "net sale proceeds" should include the repayment of all amounts paid by her, while the Trustee argued for a narrower interpretation. The court concluded that the term "net sale proceeds" should be interpreted in accordance with the Trustee's argument. The relief sought by Mrs Stolyar in her interlocutory application was refused, and the application was dismissed. The court made orders that Mrs Stolyar pay the Trustee's costs of the interlocutory applications and that the Trustee's interlocutory application be dismissed with no order as to costs.