Queanbeyan City Council Crown Reserves Reserve Trust v Marellen Pastoral Co Pty Ltd [2009] NSWSC 1101

New South Wales Supreme Court

CITATION : Queanbeyan City Council Crown Reserves Reserve Trust v Marellen Pastoral Co Pty Ltd [2009] NSWSC 1101

HEARING DATE(S) : 9 October 2009

JUDGMENT DATE : 9 October 2009

JURISDICTION : Equity Division

JUDGMENT OF : Palmer J

EX TEMPORE JUDGMENT DATE : 9 October 2009

DECISION : Judgment for Defendant.

CATCHWORDS : CONTRACT - CONSTRUCTION – Meaning of "anniversary" in context of whole clause.

CATEGORY : Principal judgment

PARTIES : Queanbeyan City Council Crown Reserves Reserve Trust (Plaintiff) Marellen Pastoral Co Pty Ltd (Defendant)

FILE NUMBER(S) : SC 1789/09

COUNSEL : S.M. Nixon (Plaintiff) G. Curtin (Defendant)

SOLICITORS : Elrington Boardman Allport (Plaintiff) Baker Deane & Nutt (Defendant)

1789/09 Queanbeyan City Council Crown Reserves Reserve Trust v Marellen Pastoral Co Pty Ltd

JUDGMENT – Ex tempore

9 October, 2009

1 This case raises a short point of construction of the rent review clause in a lease between the parties. There is no dispute as to the facts. 2 The Plaintiff lessor is the owner of a caravan park at Queanbeyan which is operated by the Defendant as lessee. The lease of the caravan park is for a term of twenty years commencing on 1 March 1999. The rent clause in the lease is as follows: "3.1 The Lessee shall pay to the Lessor during the term hereof rental as follows: a) For the first three (3) years the sum of Thirty Thousand Dollars ($30,000) payable monthly in advance with the first month at the time of signing this lease.

b) For years four, five and six, rental shall be reviewed at the anniversary of the commencement date hereof according to the following formula: A = B x x/y where A is the rental to be paid for the ensuing three (3) years. B is the rental paid for the year immediately prior to the review. x is the most recently published quarterly Consumer Price Index Number for Sydney (All Groups) prior to review. y is the Consumer Price Index Number for Sydney (All Groups) published for the quarter 1 year prior to that set out in x.