Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd v Bragg (No 3)

The case involved Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) as the plaintiff and Bragg as the defendant. ANZ sought possession of land as the defendant had defaulted under a loan agreement and mortgage. The dispute centred on whether the broker was an agent of ANZ or the borrower, the existence of economic duress, and whether the loan agreements were entered into under duress. The matter was heard in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia.

The court had to determine if the broker acted as ANZ's agent or the borrower's agent. It was necessary to examine the circumstances under which the loan agreements were executed to ascertain whether they were entered into under economic duress. Additionally, the court needed to consider successive failures by the borrower to comply with the conditions of the loan agreements and the implications of the bank extending deadlines at the borrower's request. Finally, the court had to decide whether an estoppel by deed applied and if the claim was based on the deed of acknowledgement of debt.

The court concluded that the broker was the borrower's agent and not ANZ's. The court found that the borrower had not established that the loan agreements were entered into under economic duress. The court noted that the borrower had failed to adhere to the conditions of the loan agreements on multiple occasions and that the bank had extended deadlines at the borrower's request. The court held that the claim was not based on the deed of acknowledgement of debt and that estoppel by deed did not apply. The court made an order for possession in favour of ANZ.

The court ordered that possession of the land be delivered to ANZ. The court also ordered that the defendant pay ANZ's costs of the proceeding.