Callaghan v Dunning

Callaghan (the purchaser) and Dunning (the vendor) were parties to a contract for the sale of land. A dispute arose concerning the validity of the vendor's rescission of the contract. The matter came before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the trial judge had erred in their construction of a special condition within the contract for sale, and whether a letter from an architect constituted a "determination" for the purposes of that special condition.

The Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge's finding that the architect's letter did not amount to a determination as contemplated by the special condition. The judges reasoned that the letter did not satisfy the requirements of the clause, which likely stipulated a formal process or specific criteria for such a determination. Consequently, the vendor's subsequent rescission, which was predicated on this purported determination, was found to be invalid.

The appeals were dismissed, and the parties were ordered to pay the costs of the proceedings.