Mann & Mann v McCreath

The plaintiffs, Ian James Mann and Pamela Louisa Mann, brought an action against the Compensation Fund, which is managed by the Real Estate Institute of Victoria Limited, seeking the return of $320,000 that they had paid to a licensed real estate agent, David McCreath, in order to purchase a property. The plaintiffs' claim was founded on the failure of the agent to pay the purchase price into a trust account, which is a requirement under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 (Vic). The property purchase did not proceed, and the plaintiffs did not receive their money back. The plaintiffs argued that they were entitled to compensation from the fund.

The court was required to decide whether the plaintiffs were entitled to compensation from the fund. The legal issue was whether the failure to pay the money into a trust account constituted a "failure to comply with a requirement of the Act" within the meaning of section 23 of the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 (Vic). The court also needed to determine whether the failure was a significant breach of the Act, which would entitle the plaintiffs to compensation from the fund.

The court held that the failure to pay the money into a trust account was not a significant breach of the Act. The court found that the agent had acted in good faith and had not intended to commit a breach of the Act. The court also found that the plaintiffs had not suffered any loss as a result of the agent's failure, as they had not been able to prove that they would have received the property if the money had been paid into a trust account. The court rejected the plaintiffs' claim, holding that they were not entitled to compensation from the fund. The court found that the plaintiffs had failed to establish that the agent's failure to comply with the Act was a significant breach, and that they had not suffered any loss as a result of that failure.