The High Court today found that Liquidators of a landlord company can use the disclaimer power in the Corporations Act to extinguish leases granted by that company. A summary of the decision is available here. The decision upholds a decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal that has created significant consternation among those acting for […]

In an interesting recent decision from the Supreme Court,[1] Croft J held that an arbitration clause in a retail leases does not oust the Tribunal’s jurisdiction. A detailed discussion of this issue can be found on Robert Hay’s blog here and here. The Court also referred to a finding at first instance that the franchisee’s […]

Robert Hay and Derry Devine of the Law Institute of Victoria’s Leases Committee have written a practice note about an issue with the November 2012 edition of the LIV’s standard lease. Any practitioner using the November 2012 revision of that LIV standard lease should be aware of the practice note, which states that: “When using […]

Whether a landlord can pass on the costs of complying with the Building Act 1993 has been the source of a significant debate over the last year or so. A recent article of mine on this issue has been published in the Law Institute Journal here. In summary, the article suggests that: the better view […]

A recent VCAT decision, discussed here, discussed a decision in which a letter stating that the tenant intended to exercise its option was equivocal and did not create a binding contract between the parties. In a recent decision from the Magistrates Court of Victoria, Magistrate Ginnane considered a similarly worded letter signed by the tenant […]

A colleague recently sent me this excellent article by Bill Burrough from DibbsBarker titled ‘Service station lease: Ensuring the lease is manageable and saleable’. The article talks about: leasing issues for investors considering a service station – an investment considered by some to be ‘recession proof’;  and the obligation to maintain the service station infrastructure […]

Here is an excellent summary by Robert Hay of the recent decision of Fitzroy Dental Pty Ltd v Metropolitan Management Pty Ltd [2013] VSC 344 . As many of you know, a retail sale is generally considered to be a sale to the ultimate consumer.  The question in that case was whether the conference provider or the attendees at […]

Last Friday, 9 August 2013, the High Court heard an appeal against the Victorian Court of Appeal’s decision in Willmott Forests Ltd (Receivers and Managers appointed)(in liquidation) v Willmott Growers Group Inc and Willmott Action Group Inc [2012] VSCA 202. For those following the development of the case, the transcript of the hearing can be […]

I am often asked how to find the ‘current’ versions of the Retail Tenancies Act 1986 (Vic) and the Retail Tenancies (Reform) Act 1998 (Vic).  To understand why this question is hard to answer, it helps to understand some of the background to the legislation. The 1986 Act was repealed by the 1998 Act.  However, the 1986 Act continues to govern […]

The High Court yesterday granted special leave to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision in Willmott Forests Ltd (Receivers and Managers appointed)(in liquidation) v Willmott Growers Group Inc and Willmott Action Group Inc [2012] VSCA 202. In a decision that has prompted a flurry of online discussions, the Court of Appeal held that a liquidator appointed […]