CT Money Pty Ltd v AFIG Wholesale Pty Ltd

CT Money Pty Ltd brought an action against AFIG Wholesale Pty Ltd, seeking trailing commissions for loans previously managed by DC, a company that was previously an accredited originator/manager with the defendants. The case revolved around the assignment of rights in expectancy, specifically whether the plaintiff had validly assigned the right to receive trailing commissions for the DC loans to itself. The legal issues that the court had to determine included whether there was an effective assignment of DC's loan book to the plaintiff and whether the defendants were liable for the trailing commissions on the DC loans.

The court held that the DC sale agreement was not a valid assignment at law as per section 12 of the Conveyancing Act 1919. The court reasoned that DC's right to commissions under its own correspondent deed and pricing agreements was not assignable, and that subsequent dealings did not affect these rights. The court found that the plaintiff was merely a delegate of DC and did not hold any assignable rights in the DC loans. Consequently, the court ruled that the defendants were not liable for the trailing commissions on the DC loans.

The court's reasoning was based on the principle that rights in expectancy, such as the right to receive trailing commissions, are not assignable at law unless they are specifically assigned. The court found that the DC sale agreement did not contain any language that indicated an intention to assign the right to receive trailing commissions. The court also held that the plaintiff was not the assignee of DC's rights but merely a delegate, and therefore, did not have any rights to claim the trailing commissions.

The court's final orders were that the plaintiff's claim for trailing commissions on the DC loans was dismissed, and the defendants were not liable for any such commissions. The court's decision highlights the importance of clear and explicit language in assignment agreements and the need for specific assignment of rights in expectancy to be enforceable at law.