Walden v Higginbottom

In this case, Walden brought an action against Higginbottom in the Federal Circuit Court, seeking an order for specific performance of a contract of hire. Walden alleged that Higginbottom had breached a written agreement whereby he hired a parcel of land from Walden for a period of 15 years. Walden sought specific performance of the contract, as well as damages. Higginbottom argued that the contract was not varied by subsequent correspondence between the parties and that Walden had not established the elements necessary for specific performance. Walden applied for leave to appeal from the primary judgment in favour of Higginbottom. The issues were whether the contract was effectively varied, whether the contract was a mere invitation to treat, and whether acceptance of the alleged offer to vary the arrangement was communicated to Walden. The court found that the contract was not effectively varied by the subsequent correspondence between the parties. The court held that the written agreement was not a mere invitation to treat but rather an offer. The court found that Walden had not established the elements necessary for specific performance, and therefore the application for leave to appeal was dismissed. The court found that Walden had not demonstrated an arguable error of law that would justify leave to appeal. As such, Walden's application for leave to appeal was dismissed with costs.