Beydoun v Child

In *Beydoun v Child and Ors*, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered a dispute concerning the enforceability of an alleged oral agreement for the sale of land. The appellant, Mr Beydoun, sought to enforce an agreement he claimed to have made with the respondents, the children of the deceased owner of the land, for the purchase of their interests in the property. The respondents denied the existence of such an agreement.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the alleged oral agreement for the sale of land was sufficiently established and, if so, whether it was enforceable given the requirements of the *Statute of Frauds*. Specifically, the court had to determine if there was sufficient evidence to satisfy the statutory requirement for a note or memorandum in writing of the agreement, or if there were grounds for equitable intervention, such as part performance, to overcome the absence of a written contract.

The Court of Appeal found that the evidence presented did not establish the existence of a concluded oral agreement for the sale of the land. Even if an agreement had been reached, the court held that there was insufficient evidence of part performance to take the oral agreement out of the operation of the *Statute of Frauds*. Consequently, the court concluded that the alleged agreement was unenforceable. The appeal was dismissed.