Dare v Pulham

The High Court of Australia heard an appeal in *Dare v Pulham*. The dispute concerned the interpretation of a clause in a contract for the sale of land, specifically whether a condition precedent had been satisfied. The purchasers sought to terminate the contract, alleging the condition had not been met.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the purchasers were entitled to terminate the contract on the basis that the vendor had failed to obtain the necessary consent from the local council to subdivide the land, as stipulated in a special condition of the contract. This required the Court to determine the precise meaning and effect of the special condition and the extent of the vendor's obligations thereunder.

The Court held that the special condition imposed an obligation on the vendor to take all reasonable steps to obtain the council's consent. It was not a condition that merely required the consent to be obtained, but rather an undertaking by the vendor to pursue that outcome diligently. The purchasers could not rely on the non-fulfilment of the condition as a ground for termination if the vendor had made reasonable efforts to satisfy it. The Court found that the vendor had, in fact, taken all reasonable steps. Consequently, the purchasers were not entitled to terminate the contract.