Papaellinas v Mossop

In *Papaellinas v Mossop*, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered a dispute between a vendor and a purchaser concerning the sale of a property. The purchaser sought to terminate the contract of sale, alleging that the vendor had failed to provide vacant possession by the settlement date.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the vendor had, in fact, provided vacant possession as required by the contract. This involved an examination of the contractual terms and the circumstances surrounding the vendor's departure from the property and the handover of keys.

The Court of Appeal found that the vendor had not provided vacant possession at the time stipulated in the contract. Their Honours reasoned that the vendor's actions, including leaving certain items at the property and not fully vacating the premises, meant that the purchaser was not able to take exclusive possession as contemplated by the contract. The legal principle applied was that "vacant possession" requires the vendor to leave the premises entirely free of any persons or chattels that would prevent the purchaser from exercising immediate and exclusive possession. Consequently, the Court held that the purchaser was entitled to terminate the contract.