Adams v Bank of NSW
[2010] NSWSC 1340
At a glance
Source factsCourt
Supreme Court of NSW
Decision date
2010-11-18
Source
Original judgment source is linked above.
Judgment (14 paragraphs)
Background Facts 21 It is next necessary to set out some of the other background facts about which there appear to be no dispute: (a) The mortgage granted to the Plaintiff was one dated 10 October 2002, and was registered and given dealing number 9161140E. (b) On 12 June 2007, Lawteal Seconds Pty Limited ("Lawteal") lodged a caveat, with an allocated number AD 182518. The caveat was dated 8 June 2007 and was recorded on title to the Green Valley property on 12 June 2007. (c) On 25 September 2008, the solicitors acting for the Applicant, lodged for registration, a withdrawal of the caveat over the Green Valley property from Lawteal, as well as a caveat over the title to the Green Valley property by the Applicant. The Applicant's caveat had an allocated number AE 233774. Registration of the withdrawal of caveat and the Applicant's caveat occurred on 9 October 2008. (d) The caveat lodged by the Applicant referred to a mortgage dated 24 September 2008 between Mrs Singh as mortgagor, and the Applicant as mortgagee. The mortgage was not registered. (e) The mortgage between Mrs Singh and the Applicant referred to the mortgage as a "second mortgage", and that the principal amount advanced by the Applicant was $150,000. (f) A copy of a bank cheque for $150,000, dated 24 September 2008, apparently paid on Mrs Singh's behalf, forms part of the evidence in the case of the Applicant. (g) On 15 February 2010, the Applicant commenced proceedings, by statement of claim, seeking an order for judicial sale of the Green Valley property and other orders. In those proceedings, Mrs Singh, Mr Singh and the Plaintiff, was each named as a Defendant. (h) Following service of the statement of claim, the Plaintiff, through its solicitors, advised the Applicant's solicitors, in a letter dated 15 March 2010, that it already had taken possession of the Green Valley property and that it intended to exercise its power of sale. (i) A Notice of Discontinuance of the proceedings by the Applicant, as against Ms Singh and Mr Singh, was filed, in Court, on 17 March 2010. They were advised that the Applicant had discontinued the proceedings against them by letter dated 29 March 2010. (j) A Notice of Discontinuance of the proceedings by the Applicant, as against the Plaintiff, was filed, in Court, on 20 March 2010. (k) On 16 July 2010, the solicitors for the Plaintiff (Messrs Dibbs Barker) wrote to the solicitors for Mrs Singh (Messrs Marsdens) informing her that the Green Valley property was sold for $326,000; that surplus sale proceeds of $91,509.58 (less the Plaintiff's further legal costs) were currently held in their trust account; identifying the Applicant's caveat; asking whether agreement had been reached by Mrs Singh and the Applicant as to the disbursement of the Proceeds; and advising that if no agreement was reached, the Proceeds would be paid into the Supreme Court. (l) On 21 July 2010, the solicitors acting for Mrs Singh, wrote to the solicitors acting for the Applicant (Nugent Wallman Carter) requesting the "payout figures due to any creditors". (m) The Applicant's solicitors sent "a schedule of indebtedness of Mr Cameron's mortgage as at 23 July 2010" under cover of a letter of that date. In the letter, it was written that "[O]n our calculations the amount outstanding is far greater than the proceeds of sale of the Green Valley property and accordingly [we] have written to the solicitors for the first mortgagee requiring that they pay the balance proceeds of sale of the Green Valley property into Court and we will in due course make an application to the Court to have those monies paid out to our client". (There is no suggestion that the mortgage referred to was not the Applicant's mortgage.) (n) In a letter dated 23 July 2010, the solicitors for the Applicant enclosed "a schedule of what our clients believes are payments received under the mortgage since its commencement and [we would] appreciate your confirmation that your client has made no other payments and [that] the payments that we have allocated to your client are correct." The letter continued "If on the other hand your client is agreeable to the solicitors for the first mortgagee paying the balance proceeds of sale to our client, costs of our application to have the monies paid out of Court would not be incurred." (o) In a letter dated 2 August 2010, the Applicant's solicitors advised Mrs Singh's solicitors that an error had been made in the previous schedule of payments and that the correct amount as at 28 July 2010 was $132,250.23. (p) Upon lodgement of withdrawal of caveat allocated number AE693978 on 16 August 2010, the Applicant's caveat was withdrawn. (q) On 16 August 2010, there was lodged a Transfer under Power of Sale, allocated number AF693979W, from the Plaintiff, as mortgagee, which Transfer stated the consideration of $326,000. (r) In a letter dated 17 August 2010, the Applicant's solicitors informed Mrs Singh's solicitors of a number of events that had transpired and enclosed an amended schedule of indebtedness showing the amount outstanding under the mortgage of $130,180.62. (s) There was no evidence of a response to any of the correspondence forwarded by the Applicant's solicitors to Mrs Singh's solicitors. (t) There were no proceedings commenced by, or on behalf of, Mrs Singh, in regard to the mortgage given to the Applicant. There have, however, been other proceedings commenced by Mrs Singh and Mr Singh in relation to the Plaintiff's mortgage (see, for example, Ginelle Pty Limited v Singh & Anor [2010] NSWSC 1166). (u) In the proceedings cited, there was a reference made to the Applicant's mortgage: see, for example, [35] and [36]. 22 Counsel for Mrs Singh referred to a matter in the Court of Appeal in which Mrs Singh and Mr Singh were involved. I was informed from the bar table that judgment was to be delivered, on 19 November 2010, by the Court of Appeal and that the judgment may be of relevance in these proceedings. 23 In the circumstances, I informed the parties that if it was thought that the judgment was relevant, either party could request the matter to be re-listed for further argument and that I would consider the request and inform the parties whether the matter would be re-listed or whether written submissions were required. I directed that in the event that neither party made such a request, I would continue with the preparation of the reasons for Judgment. 24 On 22 November 2010, my Associate received an email from Mr Singh requesting that the matter be re-listed for further argument. With some hesitation, I acceded to the request and the matter was re-listed on 29 November 2010. 25 On 29 November 2010, Ms Jasvinder Singh, the daughter of Mrs Singh, sought leave to again appear for Mrs Singh, which leave was not opposed, and Mr M W Young of counsel again appeared for the Applicant. 26 I made it clear to Ms Singh that I had listed the matter, at the request of Mr Singh, but only for the purpose of further argument being limited to the relevance of the judgment of the Court of Appeal. I stated that I would not permit the argument to be at large. 27 Ms Singh did not know why the matter had been re-listed by her father. She accepted that there was no reference to the Applicant's mortgage, or to the Green Valley property, in the Court of Appeal judgment. She stated that she thought it had been listed to provide advice about the notice of motion provided to the Court on 12 November 2010. I informed her that the notice of motion had been referred to, and dealt with, at the hearing on 18 November 2010. 28 Mr Young submitted that the Court of Appeal judgment was irrelevant to any issue being determined by me. 29 The citation of the Court of Appeal judgment is Singh v Ginelle Pty Ltd [2010] NSWCA 310. I have read the judgment that is said to have arisen from a joint hearing of two separate applications for leave to appeal from a decision of a single judge of the Supreme Court. One application concerned a decision given by Latham J on 9 March 2010, the other a decision of Palmer J, given on 5 May 2010. The applicants in each application were Mr Singh and Mrs Singh. The respondent in each case is Ginelle Pty Limited and the land the subject of the mortgage the subject of dispute was land at Londonderry. 30 I accept Mr Young's submission that there is nothing in the reasons of the Court of Appeal that is relevant to the matters in dispute in the present proceedings. The mortgage the subject of the dispute in that case was a different one; the mortgagee was different, as were the mortgagors, only one of whom was Mrs Singh. The Procedure to be followed in respect of the claim for payment out 31 Section 58(3) of the Real Property Act dictates how the proceeds of the sale of the Green Valley property were to be applied, at least in the absence of some different agreement of all interested parties. (There is no suggestion of a different agreement in the present case.) 32 The section provides: "(3) The purchase money to arise from the sale of any such land, estate, or interest, shall be applied, first, in payment of the expenses occasioned by such sale; secondly, in payment of the moneys which may then be due or owing to the mortgagee, chargee or covenant chargee; thirdly, in payment of subsequent mortgages, charges or covenant charges (if any) in the order of their priority; and the surplus (if any) shall be paid to the mortgagor, charger or covenant charger, as the case may be." 33 Section 58 operates to make a first mortgagee a trustee for any purchase money in excess of that required to pay out the first mortgage and the expenses of the sale: Bank of NSW v Adams (1982) 2 NSWLR 659 and on appeal (1984) 1 NSWLR 285 at 299; Avco Financial Services Ltd v Commonwealth Bank of Australia (1989) 17 NSWLR 679, at 681. Any subsequent mortgage, or charge, over the land, converts on the sale of the property to an equitable charge over the moneys: Re Murrell; ex parte Official Trustee in Bankruptcy [1984] FCA 314; (1984) 57 ALR 85; Hope v Hope [1977] 1 NZLR 582; Re S & D International Pty Ltd (in liq) (rec & mgr apptd) [2009] VSC 225 at [101]. 34 The reference to subsequent mortgages, charges, or covenant charges in s 58(3) includes unregistered mortgages and charges: Avco Financial Services Ltd v Commonwealth Bank of Australia; La Trobe Capital and Mortgage Corporation Ltd (No 2) [2009] NSWSC 1372 at [33]; Re S & D International Pty Ltd (in liq); Elderly Citizens Homes of SA Inc v Balnaves (1998) 72 SASR 210 at [33]; cf Marcel Esber v Kimberley Securities Ltd (2009) 14 BPR 27,433; [2009] NSWSC 1422, at [32]-[46]. 35 In Bofinger & Anor v Kingsway Group Limited & Ors [2009] HCA 44; (2009) 239 CLR 269, at [35] the High Court said: "[35] Adams v Bank of New South Wales [[1984] 1 NSWLR 285 at 299, 302] is authority that s 58 [of the Real Property Act 1900 (NSW)] is to be read in a manner consistent with the equitable duty of the first mortgagee to account to puisne mortgagees as a trustee for any surplus. The position in equity was described as follows by Kay J in Charles v Jones [(1887) 35 Ch D 544 at 549-550] as follows: