Cornucopia (Young) Pty Ltd v Ward

Cornucopia (Young) Pty Ltd, trading as the Cornucopia Shopping Centre, brought an action against Ward, the lessee of a retail lease at the shopping centre. The dispute revolved around the calculation of the amount owed by Ward under the lease, which included arrears of rent, a claim for make good works, and an alleged breach of a disclosure requirement. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Equity Division. The central legal issues were whether the arrears of rent were waived, if Ward breached a disclosure requirement, the status of an agreement concerning electricity costs, the assessment of a make good claim, and the running account of the lease. The court examined whether Cornucopia had waived its right to claim the arrears of rent and whether Ward breached the disclosure requirement under the lease. The court also had to determine the enforceability of an agreement related to electricity costs and assess the make good claim. Additionally, the court needed to resolve the running account of the lease. The court found that Cornucopia had not waived its right to claim the arrears of rent and that Ward did breach the disclosure requirement. The court concluded that the agreement for electricity costs was unenforceable and assessed the make good claim. The court also addressed the running account of the lease. Consequently, the court ordered Ward to pay Cornucopia $72,797.15 immediately and ordered that the costs of the application be paid by Ward on the ordinary basis, as agreed or assessed. If either party wished to contest the costs order, the court outlined a specific process for making an application for a different costs order.