Vaughan and Bele (No 2)

In *Vaughan and Bele (No 2)*, Cronin J of the Supreme Court of Victoria considered an application concerning the exclusive use and occupation of a property at No 9. The dispute involved Mr Vaughan, the applicant, and Ms Bele, the respondent and registered proprietor of the property. The court was asked to make orders regarding the possession and control of the property pending its sale.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether to grant Mr Vaughan sole and exclusive use and occupation of the No 9 property, and whether to restrain Ms Bele from attending the property or dealing with its title. The court also had to determine the appropriate mechanism for managing the property's title and facilitating its sale, particularly in light of Ms Bele's registered proprietorship.

Cronin J reasoned that it was appropriate to grant Mr Vaughan exclusive use and occupation of the property until its sale. To facilitate this, Ms Bele was restrained from attending within 100 metres of the property and from taking any steps to lease, assign, transfer, alienate, encumber, or register any interests or caveats on the title. The court further ordered the cancellation of the existing folio of the register and the creation of a new one, which would be held by Messrs Mills Oakley Lawyers on trust pending settlement of the sale. This was done to ensure the orderly transfer of title to a purchaser and to satisfy the court's prior orders.