Hacide Pty Ltd v Commonwealth Bank

Hacide Pty Ltd (the appellant) appealed to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the appellant's liability to the Commonwealth Bank (the respondent) under a guarantee. The appellant argued that it was not liable under the guarantee due to certain representations made by the bank.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the bank was estopped from enforcing the guarantee by reason of alleged misrepresentations made by its officers to the appellant. Specifically, the appellant contended that the bank's officers had represented that the guarantee would not be called upon, and that the appellant had relied on these representations to its detriment.

The Court of Appeal considered the principles of estoppel, particularly in the context of guarantees and representations made by financial institutions. The court found that the evidence did not establish that the representations, even if made, were intended to be relied upon as a promise that the guarantee would never be enforced. Furthermore, the court held that the appellant had not demonstrated that it had acted to its detriment in reliance on any such representations. The court concluded that the bank was not estopped from enforcing the guarantee.

The appeal was dismissed.