Reference no: EM133500296

Case: Donald owns a property, "MyLago" a parcel of land governed by the Real Property Act 1900 (NSW). It includes a palatial mansion in which he lives and also operates as a casino and hotel for guests seeking a memorable vacation. In the basement of the mansion Donald has installed a heavy printing press (weighing several tonnes) to print promotional material to build support for an upcoming election campaign in which he is considering running as a candidate. The printing press is secured to a concrete foundation by nuts and bolts in order to stabilize the presses during operation so that the printing press can print clearly without being adversely affected by any vibrations from external sources. Donald commissioned a large neon sign displaying the words "Winners are not Losers" to be mounted to the wall over the entrance to the mansion.

A heavy freestanding bronze life-size statue of Donald himself has been placed in the courtyard of the mansion and each of the hotel rooms in MyLago is adorned with random framed oil paintings from Donald's eclectic art collection that are hung on the walls. Although the framed oil paintings can be removed from a room, removal of the framed oil paintings from their mounting brackets would cause minor damage to the paint on the walls in the course of removal. Donald has also installed expensive rows of luxury seats fastened together and temporarily bolted down to the floor in a large Hall in the mansion. The location of the seats in the Hall is regularly moved depending upon the entertainment offered at the mansion with different positions of seating adopted for the Hall's use as a cinema or theatre or as a concert hall. Donald's property MyLago is adjacent to another property "Little Rock" a parcel of land also governed by the Real Property Act 1900 (NSW) in which his neighbour Hillary had previously lived as the registered proprietor.

The estate Little Rock comprises a cedar plantation and a large country house. 20 years ago, Hillary had moved overseas to conduct some important business telling her neighbour Donald to 'keep an eye' on Little Rock while she was away. 18 years ago, Donald - noticing that Hillary had still not returned - began to harvest cedar (a type of wood) from the cedar plantation at Little Rock to supplement his income. 16 years ago, Donald, experiencing serious financial difficulty, surreptitiously began to store valuable goods in the empty double garage of the house at Little Rock as part of a self-storage business he established to earn additional income. Donald picked the locks to the garage to gain access at twilight when he would covertly move goods in and out of the garage. 12 years ago, Donald changed the locks to access the house on Little Rock with his own keys and began to live in the empty house during the summer season of every year, for three months per year, as he found it to be 'the ideal summer holiday retreat'.

During this time Donald would host lavish outdoor parties at Little Rock to the consternation of his neighbours who were exasperated by the loud noise caused by Donald's perpetual celebrations. 9 years ago, Donald met Hillary at a local restaurant to 'catch up' and orally offered to purchase 'Little Rock' from her for $500,000. Hillary, insulted by the offer, told Donald that he was 'delusional' and that she would never sell him 'Little Rock'. From this date onwards, Donald then began to live full-time at Little Rock throughout the year until the present. 5 years ago, Hillary briefly inspected Little Rock by walking around on the front lawn for 10 minutes without entering the house - after which she returned overseas again. Hillary has now returned from overseas, and at her instruction her lawyers have sent Donald a formal letter demanding that Donald cease occupying Little Rock immediately and surrender the keys to Hillary. Donald refuses to cease living at Little Rock or to permit Hillary to access Little Rock

Question: Donald decides to retire and sell his estate in MyLago to his protégé Ron. The contract for sale is silent regarding the proprietary interests of parties in relation to the printing press, neon sign, statue of Donald, framed oil paintings and rows of luxury seats in MyLago.

The settlement of the sale proceeds and Ron moves in. Donald wants the printing press, neon sign, statue, framed oil paintings and rows of luxury seats removed from MyLago and returned to him. Ron refuses. Advise Donald regarding his legal position in relation to these items.