Edgar & Ors v Farrow Mortgage Services Pty Ltd (In Liquidation)

The applicants, Jonathan Scott Edgar and others, sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision of the Full Court. The dispute concerned the alleged illegality of certain transactions involving Farrow Mortgage Services Pty Ltd (In Liquidation) and the application of section 133(3) of the *Building Societies Act 1986* (Vic). The applicants also challenged the Full Court's approach to setting aside findings of fact made by the primary judge.

The legal issues before the High Court were, firstly, whether the Full Court erred in its determination of the "illegality question" arising under section 133(3) of the *Building Societies Act 1986* (Vic), and secondly, whether the Full Court adopted an improper approach to overturning findings of fact made by the primary judge. The applicants submitted that these issues had broader significance, impacting numerous other cases and arising under similar provisions in other legislation.

The applicants argued that the Full Court's decision on the illegality question was flawed. The illegality arose from a building society providing funds for the purchase of mortgages from Farrow Mortgage Services, which the applicants contended constituted a breach of the *Building Societies Act 1986* (Vic) by the building society. The applicants sought to rely on section 133(3) of the Act, which deems any person concerned in the commission of an offence against the Act to have committed that offence. The applicants also contended that the Full Court improperly interfered with the primary judge's findings of fact.