Valamios v Demarco

The appeal concerned the personal liability of the appellant, Mr Valamios, on dishonoured cheques. The respondent, Mr Demarco, sought to recover the value of these cheques from Mr Valamios. The cheques were drawn on an account held by a firm, V and P Produce, and Mr Valamios's name was printed on them as the drawer. Mr Valamios signed the cheques, which were subsequently dishonoured. The appeal was heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether Mr Valamios was personally liable on the dishonoured cheques pursuant to section 75 of the Cheques Act 1986 (Cth). This required the court to determine whether it was apparent on the face of the cheques that Mr Valamios did not intend to be personally liable, or whether he signed in a representative capacity for V and P Produce.

The primary judge found that Mr Valamios signed the cheques to pay for produce delivered to V and P Produce and did not place any qualification on the cheques indicating he was signing in a representative capacity. The primary judge also noted that Mr Valamios was an account holder of the account on which the cheques were drawn and had not complied with the provisions of section 33 of the Cheques Act to avoid liability. Crucially, Mr Valamios did not give evidence to explain the basis on which he signed, leading the primary judge to infer that he signed as a person to be held liable on the cheque. The Court of Appeal upheld these findings.