Adrija Pty Limited v ABDIWAHAAB BARKHADLE Mohamed

Adrija Pty Limited, the owner of a property, entered into a contract with Abdiwahaab Barkhadle Mohamed, a builder, to carry out renovations. The contract included a standard form charging clause that allowed the builder to terminate the agreement if the owner failed to pay an invoice within 30 days of its issue. Following a dispute over payments, Mohamed terminated the contract and lodged a caveat over the property to protect his interest. Adrija subsequently sought to have the caveat removed and filed proceedings against Mohamed and the registered proprietors of the property, the first and second defendants. The primary legal issue was whether Mohamed had the right to terminate the contract under the charging clause and whether the caveat was validly lodged. The court examined the terms of the contract and the circumstances leading to the termination, finding that Mohamed was entitled to terminate the contract due to Adrija's non-payment. The court also determined that the caveat was properly lodged as it was in response to the termination of the contract. Consequently, the court ordered Adrija to withdraw the caveat and pay the defendants' costs.