Norton Australia Pty Ltd v Streets Ice Cream Pty Ltd

Norton Australia Pty Ltd (the plaintiff) brought proceedings against Streets Ice Cream Pty Ltd (the defendant) in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the plaintiff's claim for damages arising from the defendant's alleged breach of a contract for the supply of certain machinery. The case was appealed to the High Court of Australia.

The High Court was required to determine whether the contract between the parties was void for uncertainty, specifically in relation to the terms concerning the price and the delivery of the machinery. A further issue was whether, if the contract was void, the plaintiff was entitled to recover the sum of £10,000 paid to the defendant under the purported agreement.

The High Court, by majority, held that the contract was void for uncertainty. The court reasoned that essential terms, such as price and delivery, had not been sufficiently agreed upon by the parties, rendering the agreement incomplete and unenforceable. Applying principles of contract law, the court found that where a contract is void ab initio, money paid under it can be recovered as money had and received, provided there has been a total failure of consideration. In this instance, as no valid contract existed, the plaintiff had received nothing in return for its payment.

The High Court ordered that the appeal be dismissed and that the plaintiff recover the sum of £10,000 from the defendant.