Stefanovich v Curran

In *Stefanovich v Curran* [1988] NSWCA 147, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered a dispute arising from a contract for the sale of land. The appellant, Stefanovich, was the vendor and the respondent, Curran, was the purchaser. The core of the disagreement concerned whether the purchaser had validly exercised an option to purchase the land.

The Court was required to determine whether the notice of exercise of the option was effective in accordance with the terms of the contract. Specifically, the central legal issue was whether the purchaser had complied with the contractual requirement for providing notice, and if not, whether the vendor had waived strict compliance with that requirement.

The Court analysed the contractual provisions relating to the exercise of the option and the nature of the notice required. It found that the notice provided by the purchaser did not strictly comply with the contractual terms. However, the Court also considered the conduct of the vendor subsequent to the purported exercise of the option. It concluded that the vendor's actions, including continuing negotiations and accepting payments towards the purchase price after receiving the non-compliant notice, amounted to a waiver of the right to insist on strict compliance with the notice provisions. The legal principle applied was that a party can waive a condition for their benefit, and such waiver can be inferred from conduct.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, upholding the primary judge's finding that the option had been validly exercised.