Claims after the Litigation Settlement (Tel Aviv) 18668-11-23 Anonymous vs. Anonymous

Judgment

The parties are ex-spouses, who lived together without marriage from 2012 until the end of 2018.  On November 8, 2023, about five years after the separation, the plaintiff filed a monetary claim for restitution in the sum of ILS 241,566; The claim is based on the claim that the couple were common-law partners and during the course of their life together debts were accumulated that were paid by the plaintiff through loans, and the defendant must bear half of them.

The issue at the center of the discussion - even if the couple is recognized as a common-law couple and the presumption of partnership is established, this does not exempt the plaintiff from the obligation to prove that the loan money that is the subject of the lawsuit was used to cover the joint debts; Only if the plaintiff meets this burden will the burden of contradicting the presumption of sharing debts shift to the defendant's shoulders.

Brief factual and deliberative background

1. The plaintiff and the defendant lived as common-law couples under the same roof from 2012 until their separation on October 29, 2018.
2. The couple has a daughter together, ***, who is currently about 11.5 years old.
3. The couple lived in a rented apartment in B---, together with their joint daughter and the defendant's four children from her first marriage.
4. During the period of their joint life, the plaintiff opened a business for the sale of ... II---.  The defendant worked in the plaintiff's business, but her salary was not transferred to her but was withdrawn by the plaintiff for the benefit of household expenses.
5. The proceedings between the couple began in 2019, when the defendant filed a claim for alimony for their joint daughter and a claim regarding guardianship and parental responsibility. These two proceedings ended in a settlement that received the force of a judgment of February 16, 2020 (claims after the settlement of litigation 7713-05-19).
6. On November 8, 2023, about five years after the couple's separation, the plaintiff filed a monetary claim in which he petitioned the defendant to return to him half of the balance of the amount of loans he claimed took from his personal account in order to finance joint debts.
7. An evidentiary hearing was held on December 8, 2024; The plaintiff submitted his summaries on February 16, 2025, and the defendant filed his summaries on May 4, 2025; And the time has come to decide the claim.

The plaintiff's arguments

8. During the course of their joint life, the defendant was involved in execution proceedings, and therefore the economic activity of the parties was done from the plaintiff's private and business bank account, including: payment of rent, payments of maintenance expenses, economics, etc. In addition, the defendant has four children from a previous relationship, and it was the plaintiff who financed their expenses, inter alia, through loans he took.
9. During the course of their life together, the parties accumulated joint debts in the sum of ILS 471,832, which the plaintiff paid in full, and the defendant must repay him the sum of ILS 208,916 (half of the amount of the debts).
10. The loans that are the subject of the claim were detailed in paragraph 14 of the statement of claim as follows:
11. With the separation of the parties, the defendant was left with the joint movables, and she must pay the plaintiff the value of half of them in the sum of ILS 19,650.
12. After the separation of the parties, the plaintiff left the rented apartment, and the defendant unilaterally decided to continue living in the rented apartment, despite the plaintiff's objection; The plaintiff petitions to charge the defendant with a refund of the rent he paid for her in the sum of ILS 13,000 (rent for two months of rent).

The defendant's arguments

13. Although the couple has been married since 2021 until the date of their separation on October 29, 2018, there was no property sharing between them and they maintained a property separation.
14. The plaintiff accumulated debts in respect of the business and in respect of the vehicle he purchased, and the defendant had no part in the debts. The plaintiff purchased a business for the sale of ... and became the sole owner, and the defendant had no rights in the business.  The plaintiff suddenly decided to share the debts with the defendant, but did not share the profits of the business with her.
15. The plaintiff employed the defendant in the business, paid her a monthly salary, and upon the separation fired her. The defendant initiated a proceeding in the Labor Court to oblige the plaintiff to pay compensation, but agreed to dismiss the claim after the plaintiff declared that he was solely responsible for paying the debts.
16. It was the plaintiff who chose to take loans, and made it clear to the defendant that he bears responsibility for his debts. The debts in question are business debts of the plaintiff. The plaintiff did not present even a shred of evidence that the loans were used to finance joint debts.
17. The plaintiff suggested to the defendant that he pay the rent after he betrayed the defendant; It was a human gesture on the part of the plaintiff. The plaintiff never stated to the defendant that the rent he was paying for her was a debt to him for his benefit.
18. When the plaintiff left the apartment, the defendant packed his belongings and he took them. The plaintiff said that he was leaving the defendant and the joint daughter all the other movables.
19. The lawsuit was filed 5 years after the parties separated. The lawsuit is intended to abuse and take revenge on the plaintiff, and in support the defendant quotes what the plaintiff said in the welfare state: "I will kill this mother in any legal way."

Discussion and Decision