Exotic Retirement Living v Construct By Design Commercial

Exotic Retirement Living sued Construct By Design Commercial, claiming a deed of assignment assigned a car stacker to Exotic. The dispute centred on the validity of the assignment, with the key issue being whether the assignment of a future interest was effective. The case was heard by the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The court examined whether the assignment was valid in both contract and equity. In contract, the deed was executed in the present tense, indicating a transfer of existing rights, title, and interest. However, at the time of the deed's execution, Construct held no rights, title, or interest in the car stacker, rendering the assignment ineffective in contract. In equity, the court considered whether the assignment of a future interest was enforceable. This would only be possible if consideration was paid or the assignment was executed. The court found no such consideration was paid or executed in full, meaning the assignment was not enforceable in equity.

Given these findings, the court ruled that the assignment was ineffective both in contract and equity. Consequently, Exotic's claim was dismissed. The court ordered Exotic to pay Construct's costs of the proceeding.