Full Court Minute Books

Case B55/2020

Matthew Ward Price as Executor of the Estate of Alan Leslie Price (deceased) & Ors v. Christine Claire Spoor as trustee & Ors

Case No.

B55/2020

Case Information

Lower Court Judgment

17/12/2019 Supreme Court of Queensland (Court of Appeal) (Sofronoff P, Gotterson and Morrison JJA)

[2019] QCA 297

Catchwords

Contracts – Statutory limitation periods – Exclusion by agreement – Where in 1998, two mortgages executed by deceased Mr A Price and second applicant, and deceased Mr J Price and third applicant in favour of Law Partners Mortgages Pty Ltd (“LPM”), securing $320,000 loan advanced by LPM to mortgagors – Where respondents are trustees of pension fund successor in title as mortgagee to LPM – Where by 30 April 2001, only $50,000 of principal repaid and where no repayments made after that date – Where respondents commenced proceedings in 2017, claiming $4,014,969.22 and recovery of possession of mortgaged land – Where proceedings commenced outside of statutory bars in Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld) – Where cl 24 of mortgages provided that “[t]he Mortgagor covenants with the Mortgage[e] that the provisions of all statutes now or hereafter in force whereby or in consequence whereof any o[r] all of the powers rights and remedies of the Mortgagee and the obligations of the Mortgagor hereunder may be curtailed, suspended, postponed, defeated or extinguished shall not apply hereto and are expressly excluded insofar as this can lawfully done” – Whether agreement not to plead or to rely on provisions of Limitation of Actions Act made at time of entry into loan contract and before accrual of cause of action unenforceable on public policy grounds – Whether, on proper construction of cl 24, applicants entitled to plead defence under Limitation of Actions Act – Whether operation of s 24 of Limitation of Actions Act can be excluded by agreement – Whether, on proper construction, terms of cl 24 are ambiguous – If cl 24 enforceable, whether breach of cl 24 could sound in any remedy other than claim for damages for breach of warranty.

Documents*

11/09/2020 Hearing (SLA, Brisbane with video-connection Melbourne)

24/09/2020 Notice of appeal

30/10/2020 Written submissions (Appellants)

30/10/2020 Chronology (Appellants)

30/11/2020 Written submissions (Respondents)

18/12/2020 Reply

04/03/2021 Hearing (Full Court, Canberra) (Audio-visual recording)

03/03/2021 Outline of oral argument (Appellants)

03/03/2021 Outline of oral argument (Respondents)

23/06/2021 Judgment (Judgment summary)