Swann Road Pty Ltd v Sterling and Freeman Advisory Pty Ltd

The dispute in Swann Road Pty Ltd v Sterling and Freeman Advisory Pty Ltd involved the plaintiff, a property developer, and the defendant, a mortgagee. The plaintiff sought an interim injunction to prevent the defendant from exercising its power of sale over a property, alleging that the overdue interest rate on the loan constituted a penalty and that the mortgagor's notices of default were invalid. The plaintiff also argued that the mortgagee defaulted by failing to register the transfer and mortgage. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The legal issues that the court had to address included whether the overdue interest rate on the loan constituted a penalty, whether the mortgagor's notices of default were invalid, and whether the mortgagor caused the mortgagee to default by failing to register the transfer and mortgage. The court also had to consider whether the balance of convenience favoured the grant of the injunction and whether damages would be an adequate remedy.

The court held that serious questions were being tried, and the balance of convenience favoured the grant of the injunction. The court noted that damages would not be an adequate remedy in this case, as the property was the plaintiff's only asset, and the mortgagee had already exercised its power of sale. The court also held that the mortgagee should not be required to pay the outstanding loan balance into court, as this was not an exception to the general rule. The court granted the interim injunction, relying on Inglis v Commonwealth Trading Bank of Australia and Maviglia Investments Pty Limited (as trustee for the Maviglia Family Trust) v BKSL Investments Pty Ltd (in liq) & Ors.

The court's final orders included an interim injunction restraining the defendant from exercising its power of sale over the property, and the case was listed for further directions. The court also ordered that the defendant pay the plaintiff's costs of the application.