A Supreme Court of Victoria judgment is expected to leave him out of pocket over the acquisition of $200,000 of rare stamps in August last year.

The acquisition - including a block of stamps from the Sydney Harbour Bridge series - appears to have been stolen from the late Melbourne art dealer Julian Sterling.

Brierley was an innocent party in the matter, according to the judgment by Justice Peter Vickery, but legal title to the stamps in question remained with Sterling's daughter, and heir, Marilyn Kino.

Sir Ron will be ordered to return the stamps to Mrs Kino.

She claimed that her brother-in-law, art dealer Brian Kino, misappropriated the stamps and related certificates from the Sterling Collection.

Kino sold the stamps in question to Sir Ron - who is known in the stamp collecting community as Lionheart - and claimed he was gifted the stamps by Sterling between 2008 and 2010.

The judgment found that "there is no evidence from Mr Kino to support the defences alleged in his defence" and "given the very serious allegations made against him, I find it to be a matter of significance that he chose not to appear to defend those allegations and give or call any evidence in an attempt to refute them".

Some of the stamps were held back from an auction by Prestige Philately on May 1 this year, on Sir Ron's behalf, by a court order while legal title was established by this court case.

In the judgment, Justice Vickery said he will hear from the parties further before making orders as to the delivery of stamps and certificates to Mrs Kino and the quantum of any damages relating to stamps that cannot be recovered.

He will also make orders on the damages that should be paid to Sir Ron and his agent Prestige by Mr Kino.

At least Sir Ron will get to keep the catalogue from the May 1 auction titled: Australian Rarities from the "Lionheart" Collection, which described him as "a collector of rare distinction, a man of discerning taste who has the resources to enjoy his hobby to the full".

The making of his fortune began in the schoolyards of 1950s' New Zealand where Sir Ron acquired stamps in bulk and then resold them at a profit to fellow students and teachers.

Fitzpatrick joins club

Word around town was that AFL chairman and Carlton legend, Mike Fitzpatrick, may have had extra reason to smile at this week's Brownlow.

Sure, he captained Carlton to consecutive premierships, and was a Rhodes scholar, but CBD was told he has only recently been anointed a true blue blood with the Melbourne Club accepting him as a member.

Fitzpatrick's AFL minders said there is no truth to the idea that he was basking in anything other than the warm glow of Brownlow win by West Coast midfielder Matthew Priddis - as well as a thoroughly uncontroversial year for the game.

Fitzpatrick says his membership of the club - known in some circles as "God's waiting room" - came through last year.

At least Fitzpatrick will now be able to sign in his old mate, investment banker John Wylie, who withdrew his own application for the club a few years back after it was apparently challenged.

Balancing act

Computershare founder and chairman Chris Morris is not the only one "rebalancing his investment portfolio", that is selling down his stake in the registry provider.

Computershare's newly elevated chief executive, Stuart Irving, sold $2.27 million of shares this week, including 175,000 he had just got hold of after exercising performance rights in the company he now heads.

A statement from when he was appointed on July 1 this year advises that in March he "provided an irrevocable undertaking to sell any shares that he may become entitled to on vesting of performance rights that were granted to Mr Irving in 2009".

The shares received this month were part of this tranche.

No official word on the reasons behind his "irrevocable undertaking" but it is tax time, and Irving will also be gearing up to move the family from New York to Computershare's HQ in Melbourne.

They won't have to travel economy after this week's sale.

Got a tip? ckruger@fairfaxmedia.com.au