Coplin v Al Maha Pty Ltd

The appeal in *Coplin v Al Maha Pty Ltd* concerned the validity of the exercise of a call option for land. The appellant, Coplin, sought to appeal a decision of the primary judge, which had found that the option had not been validly exercised. The respondents were Al Maha Pty Ltd and others.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the notice of exercise of the call option was validly given to the grantor's conveyancer, and whether the option remained validly exercisable even if the conveyancer no longer retained by the grantor at the time of exercise. The court also considered whether the option agreement required the conveyancer to be retained by the grantor at the precise moment the option was exercised.

The Court of Appeal, comprising Macfarlan, Leeming and Payne JJA, reasoned that the option agreement stipulated that notice of exercise could be given to the grantor's conveyancer. The court found that the agreement did not require the conveyancer to be retained by the grantor at the time of the exercise of the option, nor did it require the conveyancer to have continued to act for the grantor at that specific point. The court concluded that the notice was validly given to the conveyancer, and therefore the option had been validly exercised.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appellant's appeal and refused leave to amend the notice of appeal. The appellant was ordered to pay the respondents' costs.