Price v Spoor [2021] HCA 20

HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA

KIEFEL CJ,

GAGELER, GORDON, EDELMAN AND STEWARD JJ

MATTHEW WARD PRICE AS EXECUTOR OF

THE ESTATE OF ALAN LESLIE PRICE

(DECEASED) & ORS APPELLANTS

AND

CHRISTINE CLAIRE SPOOR AS TRUSTEE & ORS RESPONDENTS

Price v Spoor

[2021] HCA 20

Date of Hearing: 4 March 2021

Date of Judgment: 23 June 2021

B55/2020

ORDER

Appeal dismissed with costs.

On appeal from the Supreme Court of Queensland

Representation

T Matthews QC with D D Keane and J K Carter for the appellants (instructed by MA Kent & Associates)

N Andreatidis QC with A F Messina and S J Gibson for the respondents (instructed by Mullins Lawyers)

Notice: This copy of the Court's Reasons for Judgment is subject to formal revision prior to publication in the Commonwealth Law Reports.

CATCHWORDS

Price v Spoor

Limitation of actions – Exclusion by agreement – Where mortgages over land secured loan – Where mortgagors failed to repay loan – Where mortgagees brought proceedings to recover monies owing and possession of land secured by mortgages – Where mortgagors contended mortgagees statute-barred from enforcing rights under mortgages as a result of expiry of relevant time period under Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld) ("Act") – Where mortgagors contended mortgagees' title under mortgages extinguished by operation of s 24 of Act – Where mortgagees contended that mortgagors agreed not to plead any defence under Act by virtue of cl 24 of mortgages – Whether cl 24 effective to prevent mortgagors from pleading any defence under Act – Whether agreement not to plead any defence under Act unenforceable as contrary to public policy – Whether s 24 of Act operated automatically to extinguish mortgagees' title at expiry of relevant time period – Whether mortgagees' remedy confined to damages for mortgagors' breach of cl 24 of mortgages.

Words and phrases – "action", "agreement", "agreement not to plead", "benefit", "breach of contract", "contracting out", "defeated", "defence", "defence of limitation", "expiry", "extinguishment of title", "finality of litigation", "jurisdiction of the court", "limitation period", "limitations defence", "plea", "public interest", "public policy", "reasonable business person", "remedy", "shall not be brought", "statute-barred", "statute of limitations", "statutory bar", "statutory right", "waiver".