Foran v Wight

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal concerning a contract for the sale of land. The purchasers, Mr. and Mrs. Wight, sought to rescind the contract after the vendors, Mr. and Mrs. Foran, indicated they would be unable to complete the sale by the stipulated date, which was of the essence. The central dispute revolved around whether the purchasers were entitled to rescind the contract, given the vendors' prior intimation of their inability to complete and the purchasers' subsequent readiness and willingness to complete.

The High Court was required to determine whether the vendors were estopped from asserting the purchasers' failure to complete on the due date as a ground for rescission. This involved considering the effect of the vendors' conduct in indicating their inability to complete, and whether this conduct led the purchasers to believe that strict adherence to the completion date would not be insisted upon. The court also had to assess whether the purchasers' subsequent readiness and willingness to complete, albeit after the original date, was sufficient to entitle them to relief.

The High Court held that the vendors' conduct, by intimating their inability to complete, had the effect of waiving the time stipulation in the contract. This waiver created an estoppel, preventing the vendors from relying on the purchasers' failure to complete on the original date as a ground for rescission. The court reasoned that the vendors' conduct had led the purchasers to believe that the time for completion was no longer of the essence, and that they would be granted a reasonable time to complete. Consequently, the purchasers were entitled to complete the contract, and the vendors' purported rescission was invalid.

The appeal was allowed with costs. The orders of the Court of Appeal of New South Wales were set aside, and in lieu thereof, the appeal to the High Court was dismissed with costs.