Probert v The Estate of the Late Amiel Colin Christie

In this case, the plaintiffs sought to enforce a deed of agreement whereby the defendants were required to allow the plaintiffs to remove trees from their property. The defendants, who were the estate of the late Amiel Colin Christie, argued that they were not required to consent to further applications being lodged with council for the removal of the remaining trees. The plaintiffs contended that the defendants had failed to fulfil their obligations under the deed, which entitled the plaintiffs to seek specific performance.

The legal issues before the court were whether the defendants were required to consent to further applications being lodged with council for the removal of the remaining trees, and whether the defendants had satisfied their obligations pursuant to the deed so as to require the plaintiffs to discontinue separate proceedings in this court. The court had to consider the proper construction of the deed to determine the parties' respective obligations.

The court held that the defendants were not required to consent to further applications being lodged with council for the removal of the remaining trees. The court found that the deed did not explicitly require the defendants to consent to further applications, and that the plaintiffs had not demonstrated that such consent was necessary to fulfil the purpose of the deed. The court also held that the defendants had not satisfied their obligations pursuant to the deed, as they had not obtained council approval for the removal of all nine trees. The court found that the plaintiffs were entitled to seek specific performance to enforce the terms of the deed. However, the court held that the plaintiffs were not entitled to an order for specific performance, as the defendants had demonstrated that they were willing to negotiate in good faith with the plaintiffs to reach a mutually acceptable solution.

The court ordered that the proceedings be stayed for a period of six months to allow the parties to negotiate in good faith to reach a mutually acceptable solution. If the parties were unable to reach an agreement within that period, the court would consider further orders to enforce the terms of the deed.