$11m stoush over Scots Church assembly hall

The Presbyterian Church is owed greater than $eleven million over a Collins road real property deal that has unravelled over complex guidelines governing its assets trusts.

however all events will ought to pass again to courtroom in August to decide the ownership of the constructing on the centre of the sour criminal stoush, the meeting hall at 156 Collins avenue..

In a judgment introduced down yesterday, ideally suited courtroom judge Michael Sifris suggested the outcome should bring about the sale of the assembly hall, a 5-storey Gothic Revival-style constructing designed through Henry Kempe in 1914-15.

Justice Sifiris stated resolving the case could contain "complex accounting and prison issues" that he had was hoping might be resolved in mediation.

Justice Sifris observed Scots Church houses agree with's (SCPT) authentic purchase of the assembly hall in 2002 became "unauthorised" and in breach of accept as true with.

The case was brought by way of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria Trusts organisation  towards the SCPT's five trustees, its legal professional and a consultant of the board of management. The PCV Trusts Corp is a beneficiary of the SCPT.

The sour legal struggle centres at the effects of a property improvement undertaken by way of the Scots Church homes believe with developer APN, in which a brand new headquarters for Westpac turned into built on a car park at the nook of Little Collins and Russell streets.

APN paid the Scots Church believe a $five.five million hire top class in 2008 for the usage of the Russell avenue belongings and then used the coins to fund its purchase of the meeting hall. The corridor was then mortgaged to fund a $6.9 million refurbishment.

The church has argued this flow become unauthorised and the money have to were paid to the church to fund its work.

The criminal match is complex by a series of rules governing the consider and the uses of its profits dating again to the 1840s while the church changed into granted land in Collins road.

Justice Sifris determined that the monies from the authentic sale have to have been shared among the Presbyterian Church of Victoria and the SCPT's board of control.

"They, or any of them, are entitled to deliver a personal declare against the trustees for breach of agree with and … are entitled to assert a charge over the assembly corridor," he said.

even though the Scots Church won possession of all the church property, which incorporates the freehold of the Georges building, again in 1891, the assets that became the assembly corridor changed into exceeded to the church's wellknown assembly.

The Presbyterian Church had sought a declaration that unique the powers of the trustees. In 2013, while the dispute reached a head, the trustees stated that they had acted with honesty and integrity and inside the fine interests of the church.