Liao v Zhu

The case of Liao v Zhu involved a dispute over the commission owed to the plaintiff, Mr. Liao, under an oral agreement with the defendants, Mr. Zhu and Ms. Zhu. The plaintiff sought payment of a percentage of the judgment sum awarded to the defendants in a previous litigation. The dispute was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria. The central issue before the court was whether the plaintiff had a valid claim for commission under the oral agreement given that he had no shares in the second defendant and thus no entitlement to any commission.

The court examined the nature of the oral agreement between the plaintiff and the defendants regarding the commission. It was established that the original agreement for commissions was contingent on the continuation of a head agency contract, which was subsequently wrongfully terminated by one of the defendants. The court needed to determine whether a substitute agreement existed that would entitle the plaintiff to a percentage of the judgment sum, either through an oral or written agreement. It was noted that the plaintiff had no shares in the second defendant and therefore no entitlement to any commission under the terms of any agreement.

The court concluded that the plaintiff had no valid claim for commission. It found that while there was an oral agreement for commissions, the plaintiff did not have any shares in the second defendant, and thus, no entitlement to any commission from the judgment sum awarded. The court held that the plaintiff's claim was without merit as it was based on an agreement that did not provide him with any share or interest in the second defendant's entitlement to the judgment sum. Consequently, the court dismissed the plaintiff's claim in its entirety.

The final orders of the court were that the plaintiff's claim be dismissed with costs. The court awarded costs to the defendants, reflecting its decision that the plaintiff's claim was unfounded and without merit.