Bull v Boreas Pty Ltd

In the case of Bull v Boreas Pty Ltd, the dispute involved the interpretation of a trust deed and the extent to which it conferred a power on the trustee to extend the vesting date of property. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The plaintiff, Bull, sought to enforce the trust deed's terms, while the defendant, Boreas Pty Ltd, argued that the deed did not confer such a power and that section 81 of the Trustee Act 1925 (NSW) did not empower the court to confer a power on the trustee to extend the vesting date.

The court was required to determine whether the trust deed expressly or impliedly conferred a power on the trustee to extend the vesting date. Additionally, the court needed to decide if section 81 of the Trustee Act 1925 (NSW) permitted the court to confer such a power on the trustee if the deed did not explicitly provide for it. This involved a careful analysis of the language used in the trust deed and the relevant statutory provisions.

The court found that the trust deed did not expressly or impliedly confer a power on the trustee to extend the vesting date. The language of the deed was clear and unambiguous, and there was no room for any implication of such a power. Furthermore, the court held that section 81 of the Trustee Act 1925 (NSW) did not empower it to confer a power on the trustee to extend the vesting date when the deed did not provide for it. The court's reasoning was based on the principle that the court should not rewrite the trust deed to include powers that were not explicitly or implicitly granted by the settlor.

The final orders of the court were in favour of the plaintiff, Bull, as the trust deed did not confer a power on the trustee to extend the vesting date. The court held that the trust deed's terms were to be enforced as written, and the trustee was not empowered to extend the vesting date without the settlor's explicit consent.