Ready v Huey

Ready and Huey were the parties involved in a dispute before the High Court of Australia concerning the interpretation of a contract for the sale of land. The central issue revolved around whether the purchaser, Mr. Huey, had validly exercised an option to purchase the land, which was subject to a condition precedent. The vendor, Mr. Ready, contended that the condition had not been satisfied, and therefore the option had not been validly exercised.

The High Court was required to determine whether the condition precedent, which stipulated that the vendor must obtain planning approval for a subdivision of the land, had been fulfilled. This involved an examination of the contractual language to ascertain the precise nature of the obligation imposed on the vendor and the consequences of its non-performance. The court also had to consider whether the purchaser had waived the condition or if the vendor's conduct amounted to a repudiation of the contract.

The court reasoned that the condition precedent was for the benefit of the purchaser and could be waived by him. However, the court found that the vendor had not taken all reasonable steps to obtain the planning approval, and therefore the condition had not been satisfied. The court further held that the vendor's conduct amounted to a repudiation of the contract, which the purchaser had validly accepted. The legal principle applied was that a party cannot rely on the non-fulfilment of a condition precedent if they have prevented its fulfilment or repudiated the contract.

Consequently, the High Court dismissed the appeal, upholding the decision of the lower court that the contract had been validly terminated by the purchaser.