Miller v Ghosh (No. 2)

In *Miller v Ghosh (No. 2)*, the District Court of New South Wales was asked to determine whether a claim for damages for breach of contract was statute-barred. The plaintiff, Mr. Miller, alleged that the defendant, Mr. Ghosh, had breached a contract by failing to pay him a sum of money. Mr. Ghosh contended that the claim was brought outside the limitation period prescribed by the *Limitation Act 1969* (NSW).

The central legal issue before the court was whether the cause of action for breach of contract accrued at the time of the alleged breach or at a later date, thereby potentially bringing the claim within the statutory time limit. This required the court to consider the principles governing the accrual of causes of action in contract law, particularly in circumstances where a debt or payment is alleged to be outstanding.

Judge Manousaridis applied the well-established principle that a cause of action for breach of contract, such as non-payment of a debt, accrues at the time when the breach occurs. In this instance, the court found that the alleged breach, being the failure to pay the sum of money, occurred on a specific date. As the plaintiff had commenced proceedings after the expiration of the limitation period from that date, the claim was found to be statute-barred. The court therefore dismissed the plaintiff's claim.