Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd v Deqmo Pty Ltd

In the case of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd v Deqmo Pty Ltd, the applicants sought an injunction to prevent the respondents from lodging further caveats over specific properties. The applicants argued that the respondents had acted in bad faith and sought to delay the exercise of their legal rights. The case was heard in the Federal Court of Australia.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether an injunction could be granted to restrain the exercise of a legal right, specifically the right to lodge a caveat over property under the Torrens title system. The court needed to consider whether the applicants had demonstrated a sufficient likelihood of success on the merits and whether the balance of convenience favoured the grant of an injunction.

The court found that the applicants had established a strong case for the removal of the caveats, as the respondents had acted in bad faith and sought to delay the applicants' exercise of their legal rights. The Registrar of Titles, who was also a party to the proceedings, did not oppose the application, further supporting the applicants' position. Despite the absence of any wrongdoing on the part of the Registrar, the court granted the injunction, emphasising the importance of preventing abuse of the caveating process. The court also ordered the removal of the caveats lodged by the respondents.

The final orders of the court included an injunction restraining the respondents from lodging any further caveats over the specified properties and an order for the removal of the existing caveats. The orders were delivered ex tempore on 24 April 2015, and the specifics of the draft orders were subsequently confirmed.