Wagener v Di Iorio

In *Wagener v Di Iorio*, the Supreme Court of Queensland considered a dispute between a vendor and a purchaser concerning the sale of a residential property. The purchaser sought to terminate the contract, alleging a breach of a special condition requiring the vendor to obtain vacant possession of the property by a specified date. The vendor contended that they had substantially complied with the condition and that the purchaser was not entitled to terminate.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the vendor's failure to deliver vacant possession by the contractual date constituted a repudiatory breach of the contract, thereby entitling the purchaser to terminate. This required the Court to interpret the nature of the special condition and assess whether it was a condition precedent to the purchaser's obligations or a term the breach of which could be remedied.

Judge Jarrett found that the special condition requiring vacant possession by a specific date was a condition precedent. The Court reasoned that the parties had clearly intended for vacant possession to be a fundamental aspect of the contract, and the precise date stipulated was material. The vendor's inability to provide vacant possession by that date meant they had failed to fulfil a crucial obligation, which amounted to a repudiatory breach. Consequently, the purchaser was entitled to accept the repudiation and terminate the contract. The Court therefore ordered that the contract be terminated and that the deposit paid by the purchaser be returned.