Aquaflo Distillation Pty Ltd v First National Real Estate Burleigh

Aquaflo Distillation Pty Ltd, the respondent, appealed against a decision of the Adjudicator, First National Real Estate Burleigh, the appellant, who had ruled in favour of Aquaflo in a dispute over a real estate commission. The dispute arose when Aquaflo sought to recover commission from First National for a sale of property, a claim which was contested by the real estate agent. The matter was determined by an Adjudicator who found in favour of Aquaflo, awarding them the commission they sought. First National appealed this decision, claiming that Aquaflo was not the effective cause of the sale, as the buyer had negotiated directly with the seller after the agency period had ended. The appeal was based on the grounds that the Adjudicator had made an error of law in drawing certain inferences from the facts.

The appeal court examined whether the Adjudicator had erred in law by drawing inferences that were not supported by the facts. The court needed to determine if the Adjudicator's findings were legally sound, particularly in relation to whether Aquaflo was the effective cause of the sale. The appeal court found that the Adjudicator had indeed made an error of law in drawing inferences that were not supported by the evidence. The court concluded that the Adjudicator had made inferences from the facts that were not warranted and that this amounted to an error of law.

Consequently, the appeal court allowed the appeal, set aside the Adjudicator's decision, and remitted the matter back to a differently constituted tribunal for reconsideration. The court held that the tribunal should consider additional evidence if necessary to properly determine the issues in the case. The appeal court granted leave to appeal, allowed the appeal, and ordered that the decision made on 28 June 2019 be set aside. The court also ordered that the matter be returned to a differently constituted tribunal for reconsideration, with the possibility of additional evidence being heard as deemed necessary by the tribunal.