Family is torn apart as daughter sues parents for their real estate business and home after claiming she was promised everything while working unpaid for 22 years

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

A woman who took her parents to court to claim ownership of the family real estate business and home has been left with nothing.
Paula-Marie Penya launched legal proceedings in the NSW Supreme Court after claiming she had been promised to run Matra Real Estate when her father Paul retired.
Ms Penya claimed she had worked unpaid for 22 years and that her father promised she would be a 'rich little girl' if she always followed his instructions.
But in 2018, her father retired and sold the agency, which had about 30 properties on its rent roll, to Century 21 Real Estate and he gave Ms Penya $5,000 from the sales.
Paul also decided to sell his Eastlakes home, in Sydney 's eastern suburbs, which he owns with his ex-wife and Ms Penya's mother Therese.
Ms Penya, her partner, two kids and mother had been living in the house.
The father had told Ms Penya he would not sell the house if she could buy it from him, however she could not take out a loan as she was not employed.
Ms Penya attempted to block the sale of the house under estoppel - a legal principle that prevents someone from asserting a right that contradicts a previous agreement or statement.
'I always relied on the promises from Dad and Mum that the business and house were going to be mine,' Ms Penya told the court.
'If this was not stated to me I would have worked somewhere else to receive a wage.
'Dad told me that I wouldn't get paid anything but it didn't matter because everything was going to be mine anyway,' she said in a deposition.
'He said that everything that he and Mum owned including the business and the Property would be mine, but if I needed money for anything I should just let him know and he would give me money, which he could do by getting a cash advance on his credit card.'
Therese supported her daughter, sending Paul a text urging him to do the 'right thing'.
'Absolutely everybody is shocked at what you're doing to Paula and me!' she wrote.
'You have a few days to do the right thing… you want to leave Paula and her family and me in the street.
'Open your heart and mind to what God would want you to do.'
In her deposition, Therese said she and Paul had discussed their daughter's future inheritance during their time running the agency.
She said Paul said words to the effect of: 'I'm not paying Paula because she will inherit everything anyway, she's our only child'.
She also recalled him saying: 'When Paula is ready, she will take over the business, it's all going to be hers one day anyway'.
Paul denied such conversations.
He also claimed his daughter had come to work in the business after returning from holidays and finding out Therese had fired the secretary and installed their daughter against his wishes.
He said he gave his daughter opportunities to take over his business in 2018, but she refused.
Ms Penya said she had begged him to wait one more year so she could put both her sons in school and focus on the business.
During proceedings, the court also heard Paul had changed his will, revoking previous plans to leave his estate to his daughter.
His new will named his long-term partner Irene as the beneficiary.
Ms Penya's claims relied on the doctrine of proprietary estoppel by encouragement or, alternatively, common intention constructive trust or a constructive trust following the failure of an alleged joint endeavour.
However, during closing submissions on the final day of the hearing, Ms Penya abandoned her pleaded claim relying on the doctrine of promissory estoppel.
On Wednesday, Justice Kate Williams dismissed Ms Penya's claim, finding no 'clear and unequivocal promise' had been made.
'[The evidence] provides no support for Paula-Marie's claim to have been promised that she would be given the business or the Eastlakes property during Paul's and Therese's lifetime in return for her working in the business without a wage,' she found.
The court also noted that Ms Penya and her partner were able to purchase several investment properties over the past 20 years.
The purchases were aided by their rent-free living situation at the Eastlakes home.
Mr Penya was granted approval to sell the home, meaning his daughter and her family must vacate the property no later than seven days before the sale.
'I just got sick of it. It was all take, take, take,' Paul told the court.
'When they need money, when I had money they could get it, but when I was out, no money, now I was the bad one.
'I made them millionaires; they were useless.'