A billionaire has won a court battle over a Toorak townhouse after a judge rejected claims by socialite Venus Behbahani-Clark that the property had been promised to her by her sister and her sister’s partner, Alex Waislitz.
Claire Harris, a judge in the Victorian Supreme Court, ruled on Thursday that Behbahani-Clark had failed to prove she was misled by Rebecca Behbahani and Waislitz, whose private investment company, Thorney Equities, owns the Melbourne property.
The decision brings to an end the central dispute, which began after the sisters’ relationship broke down and Behbahani-Clark sued Thorney Equities, Waislitz and Rebecca Behbahani in 2023.
The Toorak townhouse dispute
Behbahani-Clark claimed that Waislitz had agreed to transfer the townhouse to Rebecca in a deed of gift in December 2019. She said her sister later agreed, in a separate deed dated June 4, 2021, to transfer the property to her.
She alleged that Rebecca made the promise in exchange for her resigning from their music production company and handing over her shares. The alleged agreement was said to have been sealed with an impression of Rebecca’s thumbprint.
Court documents stated that the sisters and their families had lived in neighbouring, identical Toorak townhouses from about October 2019 until at least November 2022. Behbahani-Clark, her husband James and their children have since moved to London.
Waislitz denied that Rebecca had made any promise about the townhouse and argued that Behbahani-Clark had no legal claim to it. His defence said any financial arrangements concerning the property had been rendered void after he and Rebecca resumed their relationship.
“Mr Waislitz and (Rebecca) Behbahani resumed their relationship in or about early 2020 and have remained in a relationship since that time,” his lawyers said.
Waislitz also alleged that Behbahani-Clark and her family continued living in the townhouse without permission from him or Thorney Equities after November 2022. Rebecca denied that her sister had any legal interest in the property.
Reactions to the judgment
Waislitz and Rebecca Behbahani welcomed the ruling in a joint statement, saying they had decided from the beginning to defend their ownership of the property.
“We took the decision from day one that we would defend these claims for our property because the plaintiff had no legitimate claim,” they said.
“We respect the court’s decision and are grateful that the legal process has reached this outcome. We believe justice has been done.”
They described Behbahani-Clark’s conduct as “nothing short of disgraceful for several years”.
Behbahani-Clark said she was considering an appeal. She said the case had turned on a “technical interpretation of a contractual clause” with which she disagreed, adding that the judgment was being reviewed by her senior counsel and legal team.
Heloise Pratt, Waislitz’s former wife, and members of her family had briefly become involved in the dispute because Pratt had until recently been a director of Thorney Equities. She argued that Waislitz and his new partner had no authority to give away the property.
Thorney Equities is now fully controlled by Waislitz after he and Pratt finalised their divorce and divided their assets in 2025.
Separately, Behbahani-Clark faces an ongoing case in which she was charged with stealing a phone from Rebecca. After she failed to attend her two most recent hearings at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, a magistrate issued a warrant for her arrest earlier this month.
