Actor Toni Collette and musician husband, David Galafassi, have May 2013 court performance
Lights, camera, action! Well, perhaps not within the court room. However, a three-day court hearing has been scheduled for May 2013 when the actor Toni Collette and her musician husband, David Galafassi, will be due in court being sued over their failure to settle on an alleged $6.35 million Paddington terrace purchase.
The May 13 to May 15 hearing date was scheduled this week by the duty judge in the NSW Supreme Court equity division.
In October 2011 the couple reputedly signed a contract to buy a double-fronted Paddington terrace from Susie Kelly, the co-founder and owner of Industrie clothing with her husband, Nick.
The Stewart Street house was snapped up – quite early in its marketing campaign through McGrath agent Ben Collier.
However the Paddington terrace has since been been resold for $5.5 million, so the entertainment industry couple face an $850,000-plus claim against them for the difference.
Designed by architect Anthony Gill and completed in 2009, the five-bedroom, four-bathroom house sits on a 360-square-metre block.
The entertainment industry couple made their alleged decision not to proceed with the Paddington purchase after they struggled to find a buyer of their Bronte house.
Their 1885 Bronte weatherboard cottage that cost $4.4 million in mid-2009 struggled to find a buyer despite being tipped to sell for around $900,000 less than their purchase price.
Collette and Galafassi instead bought back at Bronte, swapping homes with the buyer of their own $3.5 million house.
The Kellys bought on Kutti Beach at Vaucluse last March for $15.5 million, so incurred a land tax charge on the redundant Paddington property.
So their damages claim against the entertianment industry couple also includes a claim for $43,516 in state land tax and interest for four months.
The $6.35 million sale of the five-bedroom home was allegedly due to be settled by late December 2011, but Collette's lawyer, David Carr, told the Kellys' lawyer in an email on New Year's Eve last year his clients intended "not to proceed" with the purchase.
Collette also sent an email to Nick Kelly on February 24, telling him the couple had decided to buy another house in Bronte.
The Hollywood entertainment industry couple claim they do not have to pay the land tax that the Kellys were hit with given their move into a Vaucluse residence.
They also claim they dont have to pay the interest on the $6.35 million as there was no agreement to "complete the sale" by late December.
Collette and Galafassi are also arguing the vendors resold the property under value.
They claim the price ought to have been $6.25 million at auction, according to documents filed in the Supreme Court.
