[2019] WASC 485
General information, not legal advice.
Supreme Court of WA
2020-01-23
Hill J
Original judgment source is linked above.
(a) the Property was valued at between $800,000 and $1.1 million;[21]
(b) the Property had decreased in value by approximately $200,000 since entry into the Loan Agreement;[22] and
(c) the outstanding balance of the loan sum (together with enforcement costs) is more than $1.2 million.[23]
(1) An owner of frozen property may apply to the court for an order under subsection (2) in relation to the property.
(2) On hearing an application, the court may, if it thinks fit, by order appoint the person -
(a) to control and manage the property while the freezing notice or freezing order is in force; or
(b) to sell or destroy the property.
(a) Real or personal property of any description, wherever situated, whether tangible or intangible; or
(b) A legal or equitable interest in any property referred to in paragraph (a).
(1) A person who has responsibility for the control or management of frozen property may apply to the court for an order under subsection (2).
(2) The court may order that the property is to be sold if it is more likely than not that -
(a) the property is or will be subject to substantial waste or loss of value if it is retained until it is dealt with under another provision of this Act; or
(b) the cost of managing or protecting the property will exceed the value of the property if it is retained until it is dealt with under another provision of this Act.
(3) If the Public Trustee has the control or management of frozen property under this Act, the Public Trustee may sell the property in the circumstances referred to in subsection (2), without obtaining an order under that subsection, if -
(a) the Public Trustee gives adequate notice of the proposed sale to the owner of the property; and
(b) the owner does not file an objection to the sale in the court that made the freezing order.
(4) When frozen property is sold under an order under subsection (1), or under subsection (2), the net proceeds of the sale are taken to be frozen property that is subject to the freezing notice or freezing order made in respect of the sold property.
Standing of the plaintiff to apply under s 91 of the CPCA
(a) whether the application was opposed by the Director of Public Prosecutions and the registered proprietor of the mortgaged property;[49]
(b) the scheme of what was proposed for the sale of the property, namely that the mortgaged property would be sold subject to certain precautions to ensure the mortgagee proceeds 'in a timely and reasonable way';[50]
(c) at the time of the applications, the accused had not been convicted of any offence;[51] and
(d) the intention of the CPCA and the existing order freezing the property.[52]
The banks had an entitlement to sell arising under the mortgages, not arising under the [CPCA]. The Criminal Property Confiscation Act, in its application to this case, does not give the court power to interfere with those arrangements. Once the court decided to exercise its discretion under s 91 to make an order, it was bound to make an order in favour of the banks, not the appellants.
The appointment by the court of an owner to control and manage property is the only way in which an owner can exert control over property after it has been frozen. Having regard to the whole scheme of the CPCA, and in particular the earlier part dealing with objections, s 91(2) cannot be regarded as empowering a court to grant an unrestricted right of sale when such a sale would defeat the other provisions of the CPCA. The power to order destruction or sale must be an adjunct to and read in conjunction with s 93 and s 94. Section 91(2)(b) must be read in the light of s 94, that is, that the property may be sold if it is more likely than not that the property is, or will be subject to substantial waste or loss of value if it is retained, or the cost of managing or protecting the property will exceed the value of the property if it is retained until it is dealt with under another provision of the Act.
The fact that the property has deteriorated to the degree described in s 94(2) may not be immediately apparent at the time an appointment is made to control or manage the property. In that case, s 93 and s 94 gives the person appointed under s 91(2)(a) the right to apply subsequently for the destruction or sale of property. The need for destruction or sale might be immediately apparent so that the owner may not wish to control or manage the property but simply dispose of it by way of sale or destruction.
The DPP has no right to sell or destroy property but must apply under s 93 or s 94.
What cannot be done is use s 91(2)(b) as an artifice to overcome the specific provisions of the CPCA by allowing a sale on terms in a purported exercise of rights under the mortgage.
If the act of the State in obtaining a freezing notice triggers a default provision in a mortgage, and the property is sold under s 91, there is potential for irremediable injustice. If the State later fails to establish its criminal case in respect of a drug trafficker, or the person proves that the property was probably not crime‑related or crime‑derived, then an innocent person will have lost their property through no fault or act of their own. A construction of s 91 which achieves this result should be rejected unless it is compelling. In the present case, I consider there is a better alternative construction which fits within the overall purpose of the CPCA. As I have outlined, that construction is to read s 91 in conjunction with s 93 and s 94. To confirm this construction I conclude that there is no power under CPCA s 91 to make ancillary orders of the type contemplated in the Permanent Trustee Co Ltd chamber summons.
Whether an order for sale should be made and, if so, on what terms
(a) the time at which the application is made, namely, whether the registered proprietor has been charged with an offence or convicted of any offence;
(b) the event of default relied upon by the mortgagee and whether this arose independently of the freezing notice or is reliant upon the freezing notice;
(c) whether the application is opposed by the Director of Public Prosecutions and the registered proprietor of the mortgaged property;
I certify that the preceding paragraph(s) comprise the reasons for decision of the Supreme Court of Western Australia.
[1] Affidavit of Alison Margaret Gibson filed 5 June 2019 'AMG1'.
[2] Order of Archer J dated 30 May 2019.
[3] Affidavit of Sharis Jordan Cooper filed 17 September 2017; Affidavit of James Baskerville Waterman filed 17 September 2019.
[4] Affidavit of Richard Albarran filed 17 April 2019 [5], 'RA1'.
[5] Affidavit of Richard Albarran filed 17 April 2019 [7].
[6] Affidavit of Richard Albarran filed 17 April 2019 [6].
[7] Affidavit of Richard Albarran filed 17 April 2019 [6], 'RA2'.
[8] Affidavit of Richard Albarran filed 17 April 2019 'RA1', Loan Agreement, cl 33.3, p 29.
[9] Affidavit of Alison Margaret Gibson filed 5 June 2019 'AMG2', p 10.
[10] Affidavit of Alison Margaret Gibson filed 5 June 2019 'AMG3', 'AMG4'.
[11] Affidavit of Richard Albarran filed 17 April 2019 'RA5'.
[12] Affidavit of Alison Margaret Gibson filed 5 June 2019 'AMG1', p 11 ‑ 12.
[13] Affidavit of Alison Margaret Gibson filed 5 June 2019 'AMG1', p 9 ‑ 10.
[14] Plaintiff's Submissions [10] - [11].
[15] Order of Archer J made 30 May 2019 in CPCA 45 of 2017.
[16] Affidavit of Richard Albarran filed 17 April 2019 [8], 'RA4'.
[17] Affidavit of Richard Albarran filed 17 April 2019 'RA4'.
[18] Affidavit of Richard Albarran filed 17 April 2019 [9].
[19] Affidavit of Alison Margaret Gibson filed 5 June 2019 [13], 'AMG2'.
[20] Affidavit of Richard Albarran filed 17 April 2019 'RA6'.
[21] Affidavit of Cameron Shaw filed 21 June 2019 [6].
[22] Affidavit of Cameron Shaw filed 21 June 2019 [32].
[23] Affidavit of Cameron Shaw filed 21 June 2019 [21].
[24] Affidavit of Alison Margaret Gibson filed 5 June 2019 [16].
[43] See Permanent Trustee Co Ltd v The State of Western Australia [2002] WASC 22; (2002) 26 WAR 1 [69]; Re Westpac Banking Corporation [2001] WASC 365 [37].
[45] Permanent Custodians Ltd v The State of Western Australia [2006] WASC 225.
[46] Re Westpac Banking Corporation [35].
[47] Re Westpac Banking Corporation [65] - [66].
[49] Re Westpac Banking Corporation [43], [51].
[50] Re Westpac Banking Corporation [49].
[51] Re Westpac Banking Corporation [59].
[52] Re Westpac Banking Corporation [62].
[53] Musarri v Director of Public Prosecutions (WA) [2002] WASCA 28.
[54] Musarri v Director of Public Prosecutions (WA) [18].
[55] Director of Public Prosecutions (WA) v Musarri [2002] WASC 16.
[56] Permanent Trustee Co Ltd v The State of Western Australia.
[57] Permanent Trustee Co Ltd v The State of Western Australia [77].
[58] Permanent Trustee Co Ltd v The State of Western Australia [82] - [85].
[59] Permanent Trustee Co Ltd v The State of Western Australia [89].
[60] Permanent Trustee Co Ltd v The State of Western Australia [92].
[61] Permanent Trustee Co Ltd v The State of Western Australia [94].
[62] Permanent Custodians Ltd v The State of Western Australia [26].
[67] Australian Building and Construction Commissioner v Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CMFEU) [2018] HCA 3; (2018) 262 CLR 157 [53] (Gageler J).
[68] Ward v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis [2005] UKHL 32; [2006] 1 AC 23, 40; Essendon Football Club v Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority [2014] FCA 1019; (2014) 227 FCR 1 [277].
(2002) 26 WAR 1
(2018) 262 CLR 157
(2014) 227 FCR 1