Fisher v Degnan

The appeal concerned a dispute between Fisher and Degnan regarding an agreement purportedly for the sale of land. The primary issue before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales was whether a document, described as a family arrangement, constituted a note or memorandum sufficient to satisfy the Statute of Frauds in relation to a contract for the sale of land.

The court was required to determine whether the document was, in fact, an agreement for the sale of land, and specifically whether a section labelled "Recitals" was intended to operate as an operative provision of the contract. A further question arose as to whether a point of law, though pleaded, had been pursued on a different basis at trial, thus potentially precluding its argument on appeal.

The court reasoned that the document, despite its informal nature and the presence of a "Recitals" section, did not contain the essential terms of a contract for the sale of land. The "Recitals" were found to be introductory statements of background, not operative clauses creating binding obligations. Consequently, the document did not satisfy the requirements of the Statute of Frauds as a note or memorandum of an agreement for the sale of land. The appeal was dismissed with costs.