Axess Debt Management Pty Ltd v Nottas (No.2)

Axess Debt Management Pty Ltd (the applicant) sought to enforce a deed of settlement against Mr Nottas (the respondent). The dispute concerned whether Mr Nottas was bound by the deed, which had been entered into by his company, Axess Debt Management Pty Ltd, and a third party, and which Mr Nottas had personally guaranteed. The matter came before Judge Simpson in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether Mr Nottas was personally liable under the deed of settlement, notwithstanding that he was not a signatory to the deed itself. This involved determining whether the guarantee he provided was sufficient to bind him to the terms of the deed, and whether the applicant had established a breach of that deed by Mr Nottas.

Judge Simpson found that the deed of settlement was a contract between Axess Debt Management Pty Ltd and the third party, and that Mr Nottas's personal guarantee was a separate contractual undertaking. The Court held that the guarantee did not extend to binding Mr Nottas to the terms of the deed of settlement itself, but rather to the obligations of Axess Debt Management Pty Ltd under that deed. As the applicant had not established that Axess Debt Management Pty Ltd had breached the deed, Mr Nottas was not liable under his guarantee.

The Court therefore dismissed the application for enforcement of the deed against Mr Nottas.