Rubock v Cooper

The Supreme Court of New South Wales, constituted by Judge Young, considered a dispute between Rubock and Cooper concerning a contract for the sale of land. The central issue revolved around whether the vendor, Cooper, had validly terminated the contract due to the purchaser's, Rubock's, alleged failure to comply with a notice to complete.

The court was required to determine whether the notice to complete served by Cooper was valid and effective in law. Specifically, it needed to ascertain if the notice provided a reasonable time for Rubock to complete the purchase, given the circumstances of the transaction and any prior conduct of the parties. The court also had to consider whether Rubock's purported failure to comply with the notice constituted a repudiation of the contract, thereby entitling Cooper to terminate.

Judge Young found that the notice to complete was not valid. His Honour reasoned that the time stipulated in the notice was unreasonable, particularly in light of the vendor's own conduct which had contributed to delays in the completion process. Consequently, the court held that Rubock had not failed to comply with a valid notice, and therefore, Cooper's purported termination of the contract was wrongful. The legal principle applied was that a notice to complete must allow a reasonable time for performance, and a party cannot rely on a notice that is rendered unreasonable by their own actions.

The court ordered that the contract for the sale of land remained on foot and that Cooper was not entitled to terminate it.