A feud over a harbourview rooftop in one of Sydney’s most affluent suburbs has exploded as one of the parties seeks hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation.
Last week, the state’s top court ruled in favour of Mosman consultant Marie Barter who launched legal action against her neighbours after a series of incidents which resulted in her calling the police.
The feud centres around a rooftop terrace which Ms Barter claims she should have the right to use as she can access the space via her skylight using an attachable ladder.
The space sits at the front of the home of commercial lawyer Joshua Theunissen and his wife Michelle.
The judge ruled Ms Barter should have reasonable use of the terrace as it was on her rooftop and did not “substantially interfere” with the Theunissens’ rights of the space.
The Theunissens have told news.com.au they intend to appeal the decision.
The parties are currently negotiating costs with Ms Barter’s cost an estimated $200,000.
Ms Theuissen said Ms Barter told them they would take them to NSW Supreme Court after they failed to answer multiple letters from her.
“She was just like okay, fine. I’m taking you to the Supreme Court.”
“There was a period of time where [Ms Barter were calling the police] once every two or three weeks.”
In one of the incidents in which police were called to the property, Ms Barter refused to let the Theunissen’s son Matt – who was 17 at the time – get a basketball as it rolled on her “side” of the shared driveway before she allegedly sprayed him with a hose.
The incident was caught on video where the teenager can be heard saying: “Did you actually just spray me with water?”
“When he got upstairs his back was quite wet,” Ms Theuissen said.
“She called the police because Matt had trespassed on her property to get the ball.
“When the police came, I told them about her spraying him with water and the constable said well no one was hurt so it’s fine.”
Ms Theuissen said Ms Barter moved into the home in 2008 but began have confrontations with the pair over shared parts of the land in about 2019.
The two properties sit side-by-side on the same piece of land after being split into two lots in 1993.
Both properties are worth an estimated $3.38m each, according to realestate.com.au.
Another video shows Ms Barter telling her partner to call the police after he parked his Porsche in the driveway – blocking Ms Theuissen from getting her car out of their shared garage.
In another, Ms Barter can be seen physically blocking the driveway so Ms Theuissen can’t drive in. In that incident, Ms Theuissen says Ms Barter called police telling them she had been hit by the car.
Ms Barter has been contacted for comment.
