Corowa Timber and Moulding Mills Pty Ltd v PF Wood

Corowa Timber and Moulding Mills Pty Ltd (the appellant) appealed to the Supreme Court of New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of the District Court. The dispute concerned the appellant's liability for goods sold and delivered to a company known as PF Wood.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the appellant was estopped from denying that PF Wood was a company capable of being sued, and consequently, whether the appellant was liable for the goods supplied. This involved determining whether the appellant, by its conduct, had represented that PF Wood was a valid and existing company at the time the goods were supplied, thereby inducing the respondent to supply those goods.

The Court of Appeal found that the appellant, through its director, had represented that PF Wood was a company and had acted in a manner that suggested it was a separate legal entity. This conduct led the respondent to believe that PF Wood was a company and to supply goods on that basis. The Court applied the principles of equitable estoppel, specifically the doctrine of estoppel in pais, to hold that the appellant was estopped from denying the existence of PF Wood as a company. Consequently, the appellant was liable for the price of the goods supplied.