The Court held that under UCPR r 166, a defendant who fails to file a defence is taken to admit the facts alleged in the statement of claim, relying on the implication from r 166(2) (which carves out persons under legal incapacity) that admissions can otherwise arise from a failure to plead. This resolved a tension between Queensland authority ([name withheld] v [name withheld]) and contrary Federal Court decisions ([name withheld] v Thunder Studios). On the substantive relief, the Court directed rectification of the land title register under s 187(2) of the Land Title Act 1994 to restore the plaintiff as joint tenant, but expressly left open the parties' respective equitable entitlements and the question of whether the joint tenancy had been severed in equity, noting that an intention to sell one party's interest did not necessarily affect the registered title.
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