HERMANN & HERMANN

In *Hermann & Hermann*, the Supreme Court of Victoria was asked to determine whether a party to a contract for the sale of land was entitled to terminate the contract due to the other party's failure to comply with a notice to complete. The dispute arose from a contract for the sale of a property where the vendor issued a notice to complete, which the purchaser failed to comply with by the stipulated date.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the vendor's notice to complete was valid and effective, thereby entitling them to terminate the contract. This involved considering the requirements for a valid notice to complete under Victorian contract law, specifically whether the notice provided a reasonable time for completion and whether it was otherwise defective.

Macmillan J found that the notice to complete was invalid. His Honour reasoned that the notice did not provide a reasonable period for completion, taking into account the circumstances of the transaction and the purchaser's efforts to comply. The Court applied the principle that a notice to complete must allow a reasonable time for performance, and a notice that fails to do so is ineffective and does not grant the issuing party the right to terminate.

Consequently, the vendor was not entitled to terminate the contract, and the purchaser was not in breach of contract for failing to complete by the date specified in the invalid notice.