Sylvia Gazal v Aliza Sassoon; Gazal v Sassoon

In Sylvia Gazal v Aliza Sassoon, the dispute involved the sale of a property, with the plaintiff being the registered proprietor and the defendant attempting to assert a caveat over the property. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The central issue for the court was whether the defendant had a caveatable interest that would prevent the plaintiff from completing a sale of the property, as well as whether the defendant should be restrained from filing further caveats. Additionally, the court had to determine whether funds held in court, to which the defendant was entitled and which no one else claimed, should be paid out to the defendant who did not wish to receive them. The court also considered whether a gross sum costs order should be granted in relation to the small amount of costs involved, especially given that the costs of an assessment might exceed the costs in question, and whether the funds in court should be paid out after deducting the costs.

The court found that the defendant did not have a caveatable interest in the property, and thus, the caveat was invalid. The court granted an injunction to prevent the defendant from filing further caveats on the property. Regarding the funds, the court held that there was no dispute that the defendant was entitled to the funds, and as no other claimant had come forward, the funds should be paid out to the defendant, despite their refusal to receive them. Concerning the costs, the court noted that the amount of costs involved was small, but the costs associated with an assessment might exceed the costs in question. The court concluded that the funds in court should be paid out to the defendant after deducting the costs.

Ultimately, the court ordered that the funds in court be paid out to the defendant after deducting the costs, and that the defendant be restrained from filing further caveats on the property. The court also granted a gross sum costs order, considering the small amount of costs involved and the potential for assessment costs to exceed the costs in question.