Contract — Sale of land — Termination by purchaser — Claim by purchaser for return of deposit paid — Express right to terminate by notice contingent on purchaser at time of notice being ‘not then in default’ — Purchaser sought to terminate soon before deadline for performance — Whether purchaser entitled to return of deposit — Whether termination valid and effective — Whether purchaser ‘in default’ — Whether purchaser repudiated contract — Whether repudiation a ‘default’ — Whether purchaser ‘ready, willing and able’ to perform contract — Whether being ‘ready, willing and able’ to perform bore upon ability to terminate pursuant to express provision in contract

Sale of land — Contract — Standard form — Termination — Whether termination valid and effective — Provision in contract allowing termination where purchaser obtained report designating current defect in structure on land as ‘major building defect’ — Report identified ‘major defects’ — Whether report provided proper basis for termination — Whether exact form of wording required in report — Whether existence of ‘major building defect’ ascertainable from substance of report

Practice and procedure — Originating process — Service out of jurisdiction — Service outside of Australia — Hague Convention on Service Abroad — Defendant in Convention country — Service not effected by transmission of judicial document through a Convention ‘Central Authority’ — Where service effected in accordance with the law of defendant’s seat — Whether service in a Convention country must be through a ‘Central Authority’ — Hague Convention on Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), r 7.09, ord 80

Practice and procedure — Security for costs — Inherent jurisdiction — Plaintiff natural person — Plaintiff impecunious — Whether discretion to order security for costs from natural person requires ‘exceptional circumstances’ or ‘additional factor’

Statutory interpretation — Crown notice of appeal — Director of Public Prosecutions instructed associate to affix Director’s electronic signature to notice — Whether requirement that notice be ‘signed ... personally’ by Director satisfied — Whether Director’s decision to commence appeal justiciable — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), ss 287, 288 — Electronic Transactions (Victoria) Act 2000, s 9(1)

Words and phrases — ‘signed personally’

Practice and procedure — Group proceedings — Overlapping group proceedings — Plaintiffs sought to consolidate overlapping proceedings with joint representation by two firms of solicitors — Whether orders appropriate — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), ss 33ZDA, 33ZF

Criminal law — Bail — Where bail granted in Magistrates’ Court of Victoria on conduct conditions — Application to vary conditions — Whether conditions onerous or unreasonable — Bail Act 1977 (Vic), ss 5AAA, 30A — Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 (Vic), ss 198, 203

Building contracts — Major domestic building contracts — Contract for management of construction of two townhouses — Owners contracted with registered builder, who as agent engaged trade contractors for the owners — Whether contract a ‘domestic building contract’ for purposes of Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 — Whether implied criterion of ‘responsibility’ limiting application of Domestic Building Contracts Act to contracts with persons legally responsible for works — Interaction of Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 and Building Act 1993 — Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic), ss 1, 3–5, 8, 29, 31, 132–3 — Building Act 1993 (Vic), ss24A, 25E, 135–6, 137B

Statutory interpretation — Whether s 40(2) of Domestic Building Contracts Act created statutory entitlement to repayment of amounts retained by builder in excess of prescribed progress payment limits — Whether contravention of s 40(2) founds unjust enrichment claim and forecloses defences — Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 (Vic), ss 3, 13, 40, 132–3

Practice and procedure — Interest — Statutory interest — Whether ‘free-standing’ right to interest in action for moneys had and received — Whether statute a ‘written instrument’ by virtue of which amount liable to be paid — Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), ss 58, 60

Words and phrases — ‘contract price’ — ‘domestic building works’ — ‘domestic building contract’ — ‘major domestic building contract’ — ‘builder’ — ‘owner-builder’ — ‘written instrument’

Practice and procedure — Service of originating process outside Australia — Claim founded on a tort — Claim for relief for breach of contract — Claim arising under an Australian enactment — Claim for interim or ancillary relief — Whether foreign respondent a necessary and proper party to a proceeding properly served on a domestic respondent — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015, r 7.02(a), (b), (d)(ii), (h), (i) and (j)

Practice and procedure — Service of originating process outside Australia — Form 7AAA notice — Whether applicant permitted to rely on a ground for service out not included in Form 7AAA — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015, r 7.05

Practice and procedure — Discovery — Preliminary discovery — Jurisdiction to serve application for preliminary discovery outside Australia without leave — Comity of nations — Considerations relevant to exercise of jurisdiction — Distinction between service out of application for preliminary discovery and service of subpoena overseas

Practice and procedure — Dismissal or stay of proceedings — Discretion to stay proceeding served outside Australia — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015, r 7.04

Practice and procedure — Security for costs — Relevant factors — Costs relating to third party claim — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s 1335(1) — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2015 (Vic), r 62.02

Stamp duty — Landholder provisions — Unit trusts — Group restructure — Superannuation funds — Joint holders of three trusts — Interests separated into two independent groups — Concurrent redemptions of units in one unit trust and subscription for units in second trust — Aggregation of interests — Whether redemption by one unit holder gave rise to a transfer to remaining unit holders — Whether hypothetical transfer of property — Whether transfer occurred ‘in connection with’ member ceasing membership of fund — Duties Act 2000 (Vic), ss 40, 89D(a)

Words and Phrases — ‘transfer’ — ‘in connection with’

Constitutional law — Prerogative — Bona vacantia — Property disclaimed by liquidator — Whether right to bona vacantia abrogated by statute — Whether right to bona vacantia vested in Crown in right of Victoria or of Commonwealth — Australian Consumer Law and Fair Trading Act 2012 (Vic), ss 3, 54, 55, 56, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 65, 73, 75 — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), ss 568A, 568B, 568D, 568E, 568F, 601AD

Companies — Winding up — Powers of liquidator — Disclaimer of onerous property — Personal property — Goods in possession of third party recipient — Recipient unlicensed and unwilling to store and dispose of goods — Whether State a person in or to whom it seems to the Court appropriate that property be vested or delivered — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s 568F

Landlord and tenant — Fixtures — Chattels — Whether assets comprising wind farm were fixtures for the purpose of calculating the capital improved value of land — Property Law Act 1958 (Vic), s 154A

Local Government — Fire services levy — Valuation — Real property — Wind farm assets — Whether fixtures — Whether chattels — Principles applicable to classification of fixtures — Determination of capital improved value — Fire Services Property Levy Act 2012 (Vic), ss 3, 4, 16 — Valuation of Land Act 1960 (Vic), ss 2(1),2(3), 2(3A), 5A, 13DC(6), (7), (7A), (8) and (9)

Words and phrases — ‘capital improved value’

Administrative law — Tribunals — Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal — Claims of sexual harassment and victimisation contrary to Equal Opportunity Act 2010 — Whether subject to Limitation of Actions Act 1958 — Whether the Tribunal a ‘court’ for purposes of Limitation of Actions Act 1958 — Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic), ss 92, 103, 104, 188 — Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic), ss 3, 5

Limitation of actions — Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal — Claim for sexual harassment and victimisation contrary to Equal Opportunity Act 2010 — Events more than six years prior to filing of proceeding in Tribunal — Whether limitation period applicable — Whether the Tribunal a ‘court’ for purposes of Limitation of Actions Act 1958 — Whether claim for contravention of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 an action founded on tort — Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic), ss 92, 103, 104, 188 — Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic), ss 3, 5

Criminal law — Sentencing — Totality — Offences committed while on parole — Parole cancelled and respondent required to serve remainder of original sentence for prior offending — Whether totality principle required consideration of entire period of original sentence

Criminal law — Sentencing — Crown appeal against sentence — Trafficking in commercial quantity of drug of dependence — Category 2 offence — Whether open to impose combination sentence of imprisonment and community correction order — Whether sentence manifestly inadequate — Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic), s 5(2H)(e)

Companies — Share capital — Preference shares — Redeemable preference shares — Subscription agreement under which seller received shares in purchaser redeemable by purchaser on notice from seller — Separate agreement requiring shareholder of purchaser to subscribe for capital in purchaser to fund redemption of shares — Failure to redeem shares — Whether liability to redeem at option of shareholder constituted preference as against ordinary shares — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s 254A(3)

Contract — Construction — Agreement to raise capital to fund redemption of redeemable preference shares — Liability of party to perform obligation if principal defaults agreement — Nature of agreement — Whether guarantee — Whether principle of strictissimi juris applied — Whether conditions precedent to agreement enlivened

Estoppel — Conduct — Silence — Whether seller of shares estopped from enforcing obligations arising under agreement to raise capital to fund redemption of redeemable preference shares