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LAWS1150/JURD7150.Principles.of.Private.Law. $on$the$doctrine$ . Generally,.the. .of. part.performance.and.not.acts.of.part.performance.by.the.other.party..There.is.an. exception.to.this.with.respect.to. .where.the.mortgagor.deposits.the.title. deeds./.certificate.of.title.with.the.mortgagee,.tha . Traditionally.this.has.been.an. important.application.of.the.doctrine..With.the.advent.of.electronic.conveyancing,.the. practice.of.effecting.a.mortgage.by.deposit.of.a.certificate.of.title.will.no.longer.be. possible.as.paper.certificates.of.title.will.no.longer.be.issued.. . for$demonstrating$part$performance. . Over.the.centuries,.courts.developed.a.relatively.strict.view.of.what.is.required.to. demonstrate.part.performance..A.common.starting.point.for.this.discussion.is.the.Earl. of.Selborne.LC’s.statement.in. .(1883).8.App.Cas.467.that:. . . .. . Mackie.describes.how:.. . The.phrase.'some.such.agreement.as.that.alleged'.has.been.interpreted.by.the. High.Court.of.Australia.as.meaning.some.contract.of.the.general.nature.of.that. alleged,.and.'unequivocally'.as.meaning.that.the.act.must.be.such.as.could.be. done.with.no.other.view.than.to.perform.the.agreement. 1. . In .(1918).25.CLR.69,.Isaacs.and.Rich.JJ.of.the.High.Court.articulated. some.aspects.of.the.test.in.greater.detail:. . In. .,.in.a.passage.now.classical,.stated.the. result.of.the.authorities.to.be.that.in.a.suit.founded.on.part.performance.of.a. parol.contract.relating.to.land.the.defendant.is.really.charged.‘upon.the.equities. resulting.from.the.acts.done.in.execution.of.the.contract,.and.not.(within.the. meaning.of.the.Statute).upon.the.contract.itself.’.It.is.clear.from.what.the.learned. Lord.Chancellor.says,.that.in.such.a.case.the.Court.is.not.asked.to.give.a.better. remedy.in.aid.of.a.legal.right,.based.on.the.contract,.but.is.called.upon.to.enforce. an.equity.(independent.of.the.Statute,.as.Story.observes.–.Equity(Jurisprudence,. sec..754).which.has.arisen.by.force.of.circumstances.subsequent.to.the.contract. itself,.namely,.by.acts.of.part.performance.sufficient.to.attract.the.equitable. jurisdiction.of.the.Court..Lord.O'Hagan,.in.the.same.case,.pursues.the.principle. further.by.pointing.out.that.the.proper.course.in.such.proceeding.is.that.of. ‘seeking.to.establish.primarily.such.a.performance.as.must.necessarily.imply.the. existence.of.the.contract,.and.then.proceeding.to.ascertain.its.terms,'.and.that. the.Court.below.had.erred.in.reversing.that.order..No.harm.can.arise.from. reversing.the.order.as.a.matter.of.convenience.in.taking.evidence,.provided.the. necessary.elements.of.part.performance.are.borne.in.mind.and.properly.applied. to.the.circumstances.when.the.facts.come.under.consideration..But.if.the.terms. of.the.oral.bargain.are.first.ascertained.and.then.the.alleged.acts.of.part. performance.are.judged.of.merely.by.their.consistency.with.and.applicability.to. that.bargain,.grievous.error.may.result..Much.of.the.argument.of.the.respondent.

....................................................... . 1.Ken.Mackie,.‘Part.Performance.of.Contracts:.Recent.Australian.Development’.(1987).9.

University(of(Tasmania(Law(Review(61,.62...

1. .

LAWS1150/JURD7150.Principles.of.Private.Law. ran.upon.that.erroneous.line,.and.to.some.extent.the.judgment.under.appeal.is. affected.by.it.. It.will.conduce.to.precision.in.dealing.with.the.voluminous.and.complicated. circumstances.detailed.in.the.evidence.to.state,.so.far.as.material.to.the.present. case,.certain.elements.of.part.performance.essential.to.raise.the.equity:. . (1).The.act.relied.on.must.be.unequivocally.and.in.its.own.nature.referable.to. ‘some.such.agreement.as.that.alleged.’.That.is,.it.must.be.such.as.could.be.done. with.no.other.view.than.to.perform.such.an.agreement.. (2).By.‘some.such.agreement.as.that.alleged’.is.meant.some.contract.of.the. general.nature.of.that.alleged.. (3).The.proved.circumstances.in.which.the.‘act’.was.done.must.be.considered.in. order.to.judge.whether.it.refers.unequivocally.to.such.an.agreement.as.is. alleged..Expressions.are.found.in.some.cases.which,.if.literally.read,.are.to.the. effect.that.mere.possession.by.a.stranger.is.sufficient.to.let.in.parol.evidence.of. any.contract.alleged..Those.cases.were.prior.to.Maddison(v.(Alderson,.and.the. expressions.if.literally.read.appear.to.be.too.wide,.because,.so.read,.they.would. conflict.with.the.requirement.that.the.act.must.unequivocally.refer.to.some.such. contract.as.is.alleged,.and.because.bare.possession.does.not.necessarily.connote. trespass.or,.alternatively,.a.contract.at.all;.indeed,.some.contracts.would.not. justify.the.act.done..Possession.may.be.the.result.of.mere.permission..But.if.the. circumstances.under.which.the.possession.was.given.are.proved,.then.the.Court. may.judge.whether.the.act.indicates.permission.or.contract,.and,.if.contract,.its. general.character..For.instance,.in.Frame(v.(Dawson.the.expression.‘some. agreement’.is.used,.we.think,.in.contradistinction.to.the.specific.terms.of.the. agreement,.and.not.in.the.most.general.sense.of.any.agreement.whatever.. (4).It.must.have.been.in.fact.done.by.the.party.relying.on.it.on.the.faith.of.the. agreement,.and.further.the.other.party.must.have.permitted.it.to.be.done.on.that. footing..Otherwise.there.would.not.be.‘fraud’.in.refusing.to.carry.out.the. agreement,.and.fraud,.that.is.moral.turpitude,.is.the.ground.of.jurisdiction.. (5).It.must.be.done.by.a.party.to.the.agreement.. These.requirements.must.be.satisfied.before.the.actual.terms.of.the.alleged. agreement.are.allowed.to.be.deposed.to..Further,.when.those.terms.are. established,.it.still.remains.to.be.shown:. (6).That.there.was.a.completed.agreement.. (7).That.the.act.was.done.under.the.terms.of.that.agreement.by.force.of.that. agreement.. . In.subsequent.years,.English.courts.came.to.adopt.a.broader.test.for.when.part. performance.can.be.found..As.Hill.J.of.the.Federal.Court.noted.in.ANZ(Banking(Group(v( Widin.(1990).26.FCR.21;.102.ALR.289:. . in.the.United.Kingdom.a.more.liberal.view.was.taken.in.Kingswood(Estate(Co(Ltd( v(Anderson.([1963].2.QB.169;.[1962].3.All.ER.593).and.Wakeham(v(Mackenzie. (1968).1.WLR.1175.and.ultimately.by.the.House.of.Lords.in.Steadman(v( Steadman.(1976).AC.536..In.the.last.case,.[a].majority.of.their.Lordships. accepted.that.the.acts.of.part.performance.must,.on.the.balance.of.probabilities,. point.to.the.existence.of.some.such.contract.as.alleged... . Look.over.the.wording.of.this.last.sentence.carefully.and.consider.how.it.is.different.to. the.statement.from.Maddison(v(Alderson.above.. . Soon.after,.the.Law.Commission.of.the.United.Kingdom.concluded.that.the.‘decision.in. Steadman(v.(Steadman.has.left.the.doctrine.of.part.performance.in.a.most.uncertain.

2. .

LAWS1150/JURD7150.Principles.of.Private.Law. state’..The.Commission.recommended.that.the.doctrine.be.abolished,.which.was. accepted.by.Parliament.and.given.effect.to.by.s.2.of.the.Law(of(Property((Miscellaneous( Provisions)(Act(1989..Consequently,.the.doctrine.of.part.performance.no.longer.survives. in.the.United.Kingdom... . The.question.nevertheless.remained.whether.Australian.courts.should.follow.the. English.lead.and.broaden.the.test.for.part.performance.or.continue.to.apply.the.narrow. approach..The.following.two.paragraphs.from.the.Custom.Publication.(originally. sourced.from.Sackville(&(Neave(Australian(Property(Law).discuss.this.and.related.issues:. . [4.48].Ogilvie(v(Ryan.[1976].2.NSWLR.504.at.520–5.is.a.situation.where.the. judge.found.that.the.difference.between.the.narrow.approach.and.the.broad. approach.was.determinative..Holland.J.felt.constrained,.in.view.of.the.approach. of.the.Court.of.Appeal.in.Millett(v(Regent,.to.apply.the.narrow.approach..In. Ogilvie(v(Ryan,.the.defendant.to.an.executor’s.action.for.possession.of.land. claimed.that.she.had.orally.agreed.with.the.testator.that,.in.return.for.her. looking.after.him,.he.would.allow.her.to.live.in.the.house.for.as.long.as.she. wished..Holland.J.held.that.her.acts.in.changing.residence.and.providing.unpaid. services.for.the.man.were.not.unequivocally.referable.to.or.indicative.of.a. promise.to.grant.her.an.interest.in.land..Her.acts.were.consistent.with.a. voluntary.association.maintained.through.love.and.affection,.perhaps.coupled. with.an.expectation.of.a.testamentary.disposition.in.her.favour..In.the.result,. however,.Holland.J.was.able.to.find.in.the.defendant’s.favour.on.other.grounds.. What.difficulties.may.family.members.face.in.establishing.that.acts.they. performed.for.the.benefit.of.the.other.party.were.‘unequivocally.referable’.to.the. existence.of.a.contract.relating.to.the.transfer.of.an.interest.in.land?.Do.you. think.the.court.would.have.taken.the.same.view.on.part.performance.if.the. defendant.had.been.a.man.who.had.promised.to.care.for.a.woman.until.she.died,. in.return.for.receiving.an.interest.in.her.house?.…. . 4.46.In.Arambasic(v(Veza.(No.4).(2014).17.BPR.33,101;.[2014].NSWSC.1109,. Sackville.AJA.observed.that.the.principle.in.Regent(v(Millett.that.the.acts.of.part. performance.must.be.unequivocally.and.in.their.own.nature.referable.to.a. contract.of.the.general.nature.of.that.alleged.‘has.not.proved.easy.to.apply.to. particular.fact.situations.and,.indeed,.it.has.been.said.that.the.“whole.law.of.part. performance.is.established.by.judicial.authority,.and.discerning.underlying. principle.is.an.obscure.process”:.Khoury(v(Khouri.[2006].NSWCA.184;.66.NSWLR. 241.at.[90].per.Bryson.JA.’. $ While.different.views.have.been.expressed,.most.lower.and.intermediate.courts.in. Australia.have.applied.the.narrower.or.more.restrictive.approach..Recently.the.High. Court.was.asked.to.consider.the.issue..In.Pipos(v(Trayans.[2018].HCA.39,.which.is. extracted.below,.the.appellant.referred.inter.alia.to.Steadman(v(Steadman(when.inviting. the.Court.adopt.a.more.relaxed.approach... ! $ . Facts:. . Leon.and.George.are.brothers..Leon.is.married.to.Sophie.and.George.was. previously.married.to.Velika..In.2002,.Velika.(who.is.the.respondent).and.George. purchased.some.vacant.land.(Clark.Road).and.built.a.house.on.it..The.property.was. put.into.Velika’s.name.only.and.was.subject.to.a.mortgage..Later,.in.2004,.Velika. and.George.bought.another.parcel.of.land.(Penfield.Road)..This.time.they.bought.

3. .

LAWS1150/JURD7150.Principles.of.Private.Law. the.land.together.with.Leon.and.Sophie.and.legal.ownership.of.the.land.was.divided. equally.between.the.two.couples..Their.contributions.to.the.purchase,.however,. were.unequal:.while.the.majority.of.the.purchase.price.was.paid.for.through.a.joint. mortgage,.the.balance.of.$74,883.was.paid.for.by.Leon.and.Sophie... . Leon.gave.evidence.that.in.the.course.of.purchasing.Penfield.Road,.he.reached.an. agreement.with.George.whereby.Leon.and.Sophie.would.pay.the.full.$74,883. balance.for.Penfield.Road.in.return.for.a.half.interest.in.the.land.for.the.Clark.Road. property..They.decided.that.the.unimproved.value.of.the.land.at.Clark.Road.was. around.$80.000.to.$90.000,.and.so.their.agreement.was.based.on.a.price.of.$45.000. for.the.half.interest..The.agreement.was.not.in.writing... . In.the.years.following.2004,.Velika.and.George.continued.to.live.at.Clarke.Road.and. continued.to.pay.the.mortgage.and.all.outgoings..They.did.not.pay.any.occupation. rent.to.Leon..In.2009,.Leon.asked.Velika.to.sign.a.handwritten.note.stating.that.he. was.a.half-owner.of.Clarke.Road.under.his.agreement.with.George,.which.Velika. signed..Around.that.time,.Leon.made.payments.on.both.the.Clark.Road.and.Penfield. Road.mortgages.when.they.fell.into.arrears..In.2012,.Leon.lodged.a.caveat.on.the. Clark.Road.property,.claiming.a.half.interested.in.the.‘unimproved.land’.and.there. followed.court.proceedings.on.the.question.of.whether.he.had.an.interest.in.the. property... . Leon.claimed.that.the.following.acts.were.part.performance.of.his.2004.oral. agreement.with.George:.the.payment.of.the.deposit.and.the.balance.of.the.purchase. price.for.the.Penfield.Road.property;.the.payment.of.a.further.$7,500.to.$8,000.to. George;.the.payment.in.2009.of.$2,500.on.the.Clark.Road.mortgage;.and.the. attempts.to.document.or.enforce.the.agreement.by.way.of.the.respondent's.signed. note.in.2009,.the.lodging.of.a.caveat.and.the.institution.of.the.proceedings.. . KIEFEL.CJ,.BELL,.GAGELER.AND.KEANE.JJ:. 1.

South. Australia,. in. common. with. the. other. States. and. the. Territories 2 ,. requires. that. contracts. for. the. sale. of. land. meet. certain. formal. requirements. if. they. are. to. be. enforceable...Section.26(1).of.the.Law(of(Property(Act( 1936.(SA).("the.Act"),.the.modern. iteration.of.s.4.of.the.Statute(of(Frauds(1677 3,.relevantly.provides.that:.. "No.action.shall.be.brought.upon.any.contract.for.the.sale.or.other.disposition.of. land. or. of. any. interest. in. land,. unless. an. agreement. upon. which. such. action. is. brought,.or.some. memorandum.or.note. thereof,.is.in.writing,.and.signed.by.the. party.to.be.charged"..

2.

Section.26(2). of. the. Act. provides. relevantly. that. the. section. does. not. "affect. the. law. relating.to.part.performance"...….

4.

In. Maddison( v( Alderson,. the. Earl. of. Selborne.LC. said 4.that. "the.acts. relied. upon. as. part. performance. must. be. unequivocally,. and. in. their. own. nature,. referable. to. some. such. agreement. as. that. alleged".. . The. appellant. submitted. that. it. is. unduly. demanding. of. a.

....................................................... . 2.Conveyancing(Act.1919.(NSW),.s.54A;.Property(Law(Act.1974.(Q),.s.59;.Conveyancing(and(Law(of( Property(Act.1884.(Tas),.s.36;.Instruments(Act.1958.(Vic),.s.126;.Law(Reform((Statute(of(Frauds)( Act.1962.(WA),.s.2;.Civil(Law((Property)(Act.2006.(ACT),.s.204;.Law(of(Property(Act.(NT),.s.62.. 3.29.Car.II.c.3.. 4.(1883).8.App.Cas.467.at.479...See.also.at.491.per.Lord.FitzGerald..

4. .

LAWS1150/JURD7150.Principles.of.Private.Law. party.seeking.specific.performance.of.a.parol.contract.for.the.sale.of.land.to.require.that. the.acts.of.part.performance.be."unequivocally,.and.in.their.own.nature,.referable".to.a. contract.of.the.kind.asserted.by.the.party.seeking.specific.performance;.and.that.in.this. case.the.courts.below.erred.in.adhering.to.this.requirement.... 5.

The.appellant.urged.the.adoption.of.a.more.relaxed.approach,.akin.to.the.approach.taken. in.the.context.of.equitable.estoppel,.said.to.have.been.adumbrated.by.Lord.Cranworth.LC. in.Caton(v(Caton5...On.the.appellant's.argument,.the.question.a.court.must.ask.is.whether. a.contracting.party.has.knowingly.been.induced.or.allowed.by.the.counterparty.to.alter. his. or. her. position. on. the. faith. of. the. contract.. . The. resolution. of. this. argument. is. the. principal.issue.in.this.Court..…. The.Full.Court.

29.

The.Full.Court.overturned.the.trial.judge's.conclusion.that.the.alleged.agreement.had.not. been.established,.but.held.that.the.requirements.of.the.doctrine.of.part.performance.were. not.satisfied...On.that.basis,.the.appellant's.appeal.was.dismissed..

30.

As.to.part.performance,.Kourakis.CJ,.with.whom.Kelly.and.Hinton.JJ.agreed,.held.that.acts. of. part. performance. must. be. unequivocally. referable. to. a. contract. whose. terms. are. consistent.with.those.of.the.asserted.contract 6;.and.that.although.the.House.of.Lords.had. taken. a. more. liberal. approach. in. Steadman( v( Steadman 7 ,. Australian. courts. had. not. followed.suit 8..

31.

Kourakis.CJ.held.that.the.purchase.of.the.Penfield.Road.property.was.not.unequivocally. referable.to.an.agreement.of.the.kind.asserted,.because.the.purchase.of.the.Penfield.Road. property.was."complete.in.itself",.and.the.payment.by.the.appellant.and.Sophie.of.George. and.the. respondent's. share. of.the. owners'. contribution. to.the. purchase. price. could.be. "the.manifestation.of.any.number.of.arrangements.and.contracts" 9..

32.

The.appellant. now.appeals.against.the.Full. Court's.conclusion.that. the.doctrine.of. part. performance.was.not.engaged..

.

The.appellant's.submissions.

33.

The.appellant.submitted.that.underlying.the.doctrine.of.part.performance.is.the.concern. of.equity. to.prevent. unconscientious.or. fraudulent.reliance. on.the. Statute.of. Frauds.to. avoid.enforcement.of.a.contract.on.which.a.party.has.been.allowed.or.induced.to.rely.to. his.or.her.detriment10...The.appellant.argued.that.he.had.relied.on.the.contract.in.relation. to.the.Clark.Road.property.in.agreeing.to.finance.George.and.the.respondent's.portion.of. the. owners'. contribution. to. the. Penfield.Road. property,. so. that. it. would. be. unconscientious.or.fraudulent.to.deny.enforcement.of.the.Clark.Road.contract....

....................................................... . 5.(1866).LR.1.Ch.App.137.at.148.. 6.Pipikos(v(Trayans.(2016).126.SASR.436.at.460-461.[94]-[95].. 7.[1976].AC.536.. 8.Pipikos(v(Trayans.(2016).126.SASR.436.at.462.[98].. 9.Pipikos(v(Trayans.(2016).126.SASR.436.at.462.[100].. 10.Citing.Regent(v(Millett.(1976).133.CLR.679.at.682;.[1976].HCA.40..

5. .

LAWS1150/JURD7150.Principles.of.Private.Law. 34.

The. appellant. argued. that. the. approach. of. Lord.Selborne. in. Maddison( v( Alderson( was. flawed.in.that.it.focused.upon.a.concern.about.the.evidence.required.to.prove.the.parol. contract...The.true.basis.of.the.doctrine,.the.appellant.submitted,.is.the.concern,.discussed. by.Lord.Cranworth.LC.in.Caton(v(Caton,.to.prevent.unconscientious.conduct....

35.

It. was. also. said. that. the. doctrine. of. part. performance. should. be. extended. to. the. circumstances. of. the. present. case. consistently. with. liberalising. trends. in. the. development.of.the.law.of.equitable.estoppel....

36.

The.appellant.argued.that.the.course.of.authority.in.Australia.did.not.preclude.acceptance. of.his.argument...In.particular,.he.argued.that.the."unequivocal.referability".test.had.never. formed.part.of.the.ratio.decidendi.of.a.decision.of.this.Court...It.is.convenient.to.address. this. aspect. of. the. appellant's. argument. immediately. and. then. to. discuss. the. issues. of. principle.agitated.in.the.course.of.argument..….

45.

As. to. the. appellant's. contention. that. Lord.Selborne's. unequivocal. referability. requirement.has.not.been.the.reason.for.the.decision.of.any.case.in.this.Court,.it.would. be.difficult,.to.say.the.least,.to.reconcile.a.decision.in.the.appellant's.favour.in.this.case. with.this.Court's.decision.in.Cooney(v(Burns..….

.

A.rule.of.evidence.or.a.principle.of.substance?.

46.

It.was.common.ground.between.the.parties.in.the.present.case.that.the.rationale.of.the. doctrine.of.part.performance.is.not.concerned.with.the.proof.of.the.contract.but.with.the. enforcement. of. equities. arising. from. the. partial. performance. of. the. contract.. . On. the. appellant's. behalf,. it. was. argued. that. the. requirement. of. unequivocal. referability. is. a. vestige.of.the.tenacious.heresy.that.the.doctrine.of.part.performance.is.concerned.with. the.proof.of.the.parol.contract.by.a.process.of.inference.from.the.acts.of.part.performance... It.was. said.that. Lord.Selborne.had. erred.by. applying. rules.of. Chancery.procedure. that. had,.by. the. time.of. Maddison( v(Alderson,.been. repealed,.and. that.this.had. led.to. courts. treating.the.requirement.of.unequivocal.referability.as.a.substantive.rule.when,.in.truth,. it.was.an.erroneously.invoked.rule.of.evidence..

47.

It.is.true.that.some.statements.in.the. cases.are. far.from. clear.as. to.the.rationale.of.the. doctrine.of.part.performance...In.some.of.the.cases,.the.basal.principle.is.stated.in.terms. of. a. concern. to. enforce. the. equities. that. have. arisen. by. reason. of. the. performance. of. obligations.under.the.parol.contract.in.order.to.prevent.the.equitable.fraud.that.would. occur.if.the.defendant.were.allowed.to.resile.from.a.partly.completed.transaction 11...On. this.view,.as.Pomeroy(says 12,.the.ground.of.equitable.intervention.is."a.fraud.inhering.in. the.cons...