Ng v Filmlock Pty Ltd

The appeal in *Ng v Filmlock Pty Ltd* concerned a dispute arising from a contract for the sale of land. The vendors sought to recover damages for the purchasers' breach of contract. The primary judge had found that the measure of the vendors' loss was the difference between the contract price and the net amount attributable to the land under a resale contract entered into approximately 13 months after the breach.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge had erred in determining the measure of loss. Specifically, the court considered whether the prima facie rule governing damages for breach of a contract for the sale of land should be displaced in circumstances where there was no available market for the land at the time of the breach, and whether the primary judge had sufficient evidence to make the finding regarding the measure of loss.

The Court of Appeal held that the primary judge had erred in calculating the damages. The court reasoned that the prima facie rule for assessing damages in such cases is the difference between the contract price and the market value of the land at the date of the breach. This rule should only give way if there is no available market. However, the court found that there was no evidence before the primary judge as to the market value of the land at the date of breach, nor was there evidence that an available market did not exist. Consequently, the court allowed the appeal, set aside the orders of the primary judge, and remitted the matter for the purpose of entertaining applications to adduce evidence regarding the value of the land.