Two retail property giants have won court orders banning a homeless man from a shopping plaza in Sydney's north-west.
Milovan "Michael" Stankovic, 71, who has had leukaemia and suffers from heart disease, arthritis and type II diabetes, had been living in a van in the car park of the Coles supermarket at Kellyville Plaza.
After several unsuccessful attempts over the course of a year to move him on, the property's joint owners took him to court, seeking to have him permanently banned from the plaza.
The plaintiffs, Coles Group Property Developments Ltd and ISPT Pty Ltd, the trustee for ISPT Retail Australia Property Trust, argued he was trespassing by overstaying the three-hour parking limit and remaining with his van in the car park outside hours of operation.
Mr Stankovic was left homeless after he was declared bankrupt and his property, which was close to the shopping complex, was sold - or "illegally stolen" - as he put it.
In its latest half-yearly results, Coles' parent company Wesfarmers reported a net profit after tax of $1.39 billion, while the ISPT Retail Australia Property Trust is valued at about $1 billion.
Management at the shopping centre - which was rebranded Kellyville Village after a major redevelopment last year - had received verbal and written complaints about Mr Stankovic. People had also complained about him to the Hills Shire Council.
Mr Stankovic had allegedly verbally abused people with disabilities, the NSW Supreme Court heard. He had also driven dangerously in the car park, urinated in the nearby gardens, told people to shop elsewhere and accumulated rubbish that posed a potential safety hazard, it was alleged.
Retail tenants were asked to call security if they saw him inside the plaza. In October 2014 and September 2015, management issued Mr Stankovic with notices to stop trespassing, which he refused to accept.
In October last year, the plaintiffs organised a tow truck to remove him, his van and his property.
Mr Stankovic drove off, only to return 90 minutes later. He drove into two security guards who tried to stop him from entering the car park, causing a minor injury to one guard's knee.
In the same month, when Mr Stankovic was in hospital, a judge made an interlocutory order that he remove him and his property from Kellyville Plaza. But he kept going back. CCTV recorded him there earlier this month, on the day the Supreme Court hearing began.
Mr Stankovic, who represented himself during the case, told the court that his doctor is in Kellyville Plaza's medical centre. Although his leukaemia is in remission, he attends the centre for blood sugar monitoring and also visits the plaza to buy coffee and charge the battery of his mobility scooter.
He argued he was not trespassing because the land was "dedicated" for public use. He also said he was protected by the Protocol for Homeless People in Public Places, introduced by the NSW government to help ensure homeless people are treated respectfully and not discriminated against.
But Justice John Sackar said he was "satisfied that the defendant is a trespasser".
"It is clear that the plaintiffs intended to retain control over the car park and that public access was subject to conditions," he said.
"The protocol applies only to public places such as parks and outdoor spaces ordinarily accessible to the public. It does not apply to private property, or property which is not generally accessible to the public."
Justice Sackar said it was appropriate to grant a permanent injunction preventing Mr Stankovic from going to or remaining at the Kellyville Plaza or leaving any property on the land.
"The threat of repetition of the trespass is, I consider, real; the defendant himself admits that he frequents the plaza on a daily basis and it is clear that the defendant has an emotional attachment to the area due to its proximity to the land that he alleges has been stolen from him," the judge said.
However, he said any order should allow for a two-month transition period, so Mr Stankovic could attend his current medical centre while making arrangements to see a new doctor elsewhere.
