[Music] [Music] this complicated case starts with a company called 29 mcquarry which owned land in Sydney for business reasons 29 mcari decided that another company DKR Holdings should own the property as trustee for 29 mcquary so 29 mcquarry would continue to occupy and use the land but it would formerly be owned by DKR when you transfer land in New South Wales you have to pay stamp Duty the commissioner for stamp duties demanded that DKR as the purchaser pay stamp Duty DKR argued that the beneficial use of the land was not changing the transfer was a formality and no Duty should be payable how do we unpick this dispute it's possible to identify legal interests and Equitable interests in land the legal interest holder has title to the land they own it and can do what they like with it some legal owners have title but they are trustees they can't do whatever they like because they hold the land for the benefit of the beneficiary who therefore has an equitable interest if DKR only ever received the legal title and never held an equitable interest was stamp Duty payable the court said yes the court said that when someone owned the land not as a trustee it's not accurate to say they have an equitable interest and a legal interest they just have the full legal interest because they don't hold a distinct equitable interest they can't just transfer one type of Interest they have to transfer the whole title so the Court held that mcquarry 29 had in fact transferred all their interests to DKR who by agreeing to be trustees created an equity in favor of mcquary 29 justice of appeal hope said an absolute owner does not hold two Estates a legal estate and an equitable estate he holds only the legal estate with all the rights and interests that attach to that estate the right of the beneficiary although annexed to the land is a right to compel the legal owner to hold and use the rights which the law gives him in accordance with the obligations which Equity has imposed upon him from this case we learn that legal title always exists but sometimes the holder of that legal title is bound by responsibility ities which Equity opposes upon them in favor of a beneficiary which is described as the beneficiary having an equitable [Music] estate