Virginia Nemeth (by her tutor) v Australian Litigation Funders Pty Ltd and Ors

In this case, Virginia Nemeth, represented by her tutor, brought an action against Australian Litigation Funders Pty Ltd, another defendant, and an individual director. The dispute centred around the formation and terms of a heads of agreement, as well as the enforceability of certain contractual obligations and the conduct of the defendants. The matter was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The court was tasked with determining whether the heads of agreement was a binding arrangement and if it was permissible to use extrinsic evidence to interpret the contract. Additionally, the court had to decide whether relief from the contractual obligations was warranted under the Contracts Review Act 1980. The court also needed to assess whether the defendants had engaged in unconscionable conduct at common law and under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth), and whether the individual director could be held liable as an accessory.

The court found that the heads of agreement was not a binding contract due to the absence of essential terms. It ruled that extrinsic evidence could be used to interpret the contract where the terms were ambiguous. The court held that the contract was not unjust and declined to grant relief under the Contracts Review Act 1980. Regarding unconscionable conduct, the court found that the defendants had engaged in such conduct at common law, but not under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth). The court also determined that the individual director was not liable as an accessory.

The court ordered that the defendants pay damages to the plaintiff, but did not grant any relief from the contractual obligations. The individual director was found not liable for any part of the defendants' conduct.