G E Commercial Corporation (Australia) Pty Ltd v Trustee of the Property of Terry Stephen White & Penelope Eva White, as bankrupts

GE Commercial Corporation (Australia) Pty Ltd (the appellant) appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision concerning the validity of a bill of sale granted by Terry Stephen White and Penelope Eva White (the bankrupts) to the appellant. The dispute centred on whether the bill of sale adequately stated the consideration for which it was given, as required by statute.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was the interpretation of the statutory requirement that a bill of sale must state the consideration for which it is given. Specifically, the Court had to determine whether the document in question satisfied this requirement, and if not, what the consequences were for the validity of the bill of sale.

The Court of Appeal, in dismissing the appeal, held that the bill of sale did not sufficiently state the consideration. The reasoning applied was that the statutory provision mandated a clear and explicit statement of the consideration, and the document failed to provide this. Consequently, the bill of sale was deemed invalid due to this non-compliance. Leave to appeal was granted, but the appeal itself was dismissed with costs.