Turner v Morlend Finance Corporation (Vic) Pty Limited

The case of *Turner v Morlend Finance Corporation (Vic) Pty Limited* concerned an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia. The dispute centred on the interpretation and application of section 13 of the New South Wales Credit Act 1984, which regulates the provision of credit, including in relation to commercial vehicles. The applicant sought to argue that a contract for the hiring of goods should be deemed a credit sale contract under the Act.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether a contract for the hiring of goods, specifically commercial goods, qualified as a credit sale contract under section 13(2) of the Credit Act 1984. This required determining whether the conduct of the supplier at the time of the hiring satisfied the conditions stipulated in section 13(2)(b). These conditions are that the person hiring the goods ought reasonably to infer that the supplier is willing to negotiate for the sale of the goods, and that the supplier ought reasonably to expect that the person hiring the goods will negotiate the purchase of those goods. The court also had to consider the operation of section 13(4) in conjunction with section 13(2).

The applicant's case relied on the interpretation of section 13(2), arguing that specific conduct of the supplier at the time of the contract's formation brought the hiring agreement within the ambit of a credit sale contract. The court noted that the facts relating to the supplier's conduct were largely undisputed, but the Court of Appeal had reached differing conclusions on the application of section 13(2). The majority judgment in the Court of Appeal had rejected the application of section 13(2) on grounds that limited its consideration to matters not central to the core issue. The applicant contended that the majority's reasoning was flawed and did not adequately address the relevant conduct.