Cameli Pty Ltd v Place Management NSW [2020] NSWSC 1132

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Cameli Pty Ltd v Place Management NSW [2020] NSWSC 1132 Hearing dates: 18 August 2020 Date of orders: 25 August 2020 Decision date: 25 August 2020 Jurisdiction: Equity Before: Darke J Decision: Declaration to be made that the term of plaintiff's lease was extended by operation of s 44(3) of the Retail Leases Act to 14 August 2020. Catchwords: LAND LAW – leases – parties enter into lease pursuant to Retail Leases Act 1994 (NSW) ("the Act") – parties agree to extend tenancy by entering into a Deed of Retail Licence – despite its terms, Deed of Retail Licence held to be a "retail shop lease" and hence subject to the Act – whether term of lease extended by operation of s 44 of the Act – held that lessor failed to give notice under s 44(1) within specified period – whether lessor later gave notification as required by s 44 – held that such notification was given on 14 February 2020 – whether lessee made written request for an extension of term pursuant to s 44(3) – held that such a request was made on 11 February 2020 – term of lease extended to 14 August 2020 – whether term could be further extended pursuant to cl 9 of Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation 2020 (NSW) and leasing principles of National Code of Conduct – held that even if cl 9 applied, the leasing principles of the Code were not relevant to the question concerning the operation of s 44 of the Act Legislation Cited: Retail and Other Commercial Leases (COVID-19) Regulation 2020 (NSW), cll 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10 Retail Leases Act 1994 (NSW), ss 3, 7, 44 Cases Cited: Anka (Civic Center) Pty Ltd v Sahyoun [2014] NSWSC 17 Pyrmont Point Pty Ltd v Westacott [2016] NSWCA 33 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Cameli Pty Ltd (Plaintiff) Place Management NSW (Defendant) Representation: Counsel: Mr P Tiliakos (Plaintiff) Mr A F Fernon (Defendant)