Mouti v Nguyen

The appeal in *Mouti v Nguyen* concerned a dispute over whether an agreement for the sale of a half share in a business had been reached. The primary judge had found that no such agreement existed. The appeal was heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales by Leeming JA, Bergin CJ in Eq, and Sackville AJA.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge had erred in finding that no agreement for the sale of the business share had been concluded, and whether the primary judge had failed to make necessary findings of fact to determine if a contract had been formed. The court also considered whether the conclusions reached by the primary judge on the claim and cross-claim were irreconcilable.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, finding that the primary judge had erred. The court determined that the primary judge had not made sufficient findings of fact to properly assess whether a binding agreement had been reached. Consequently, the court set aside the orders made in the District Court and ordered that the parties attend court-annexed mediation. The matter was remitted to the District Court for a new trial following the mediation, and the parties were directed to file submissions regarding costs.