Perpetual Trustees Victoria Ltd v Knezevic [2012] NSWSC 956

Supreme Court New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Perpetual Trustees Victoria Ltd v Knezevic [2012] NSWSC 956 Hearing dates: 13 - 16 August 2012 Decision date: 23 August 2012 Jurisdiction: Common Law Before: Adamson J Decision: (1) Judgment for possession of the Property. (2) Judgment for the plaintiff for the amount owing under the Third Mortgage, together with enforcement expenses and interest, the quantum of such judgment to be as agreed or determined. (3) Judgment for the cross-defendants on the cross-claim. (4) Costs reserved. (5) Direct the parties to bring in short minutes of any additional orders required to reflect these reasons. Catchwords: CONTRACT - unjust contract - claim under the Contracts Review Act - self-certifying loan - allegation of asset lending - whether the loan is unjust in the circumstances - borrower's age at the time of the loan made the loan contract unjust - lender's lack of substantiation of the borrower's income CONSUMER LAW - misleading and deceptive conduct - representations by a lender's agent at settlement - causation - whether a sufficient and direct link between the conduct and consequences Legislation Cited: - Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act 2001 (Cth) - Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) - Contracts Review Act 1980 - Consumer Credit (New South Wales) Code Cases Cited: - Alexander v Cambridge Credit (1987) 9 NSWLR 310 - Briginshaw v Briginshaw [1938] HCA 34; (1938) 60 CLR 336 - Bullabidgee Pty Limited v McCleary [2011] NSWCA 259 - Butcher v Lachlan Elder Realty Pty Limited [2004] HCA 60; 218 CLR 592 at 605 - Digi-tech (Australia) Ltd v Brand [2004] NSWCA 58; 62 IPR 184 - Fast Fix Loans Pty Ltd v Samardzic [2011] NSWCA 260 - Henville v Walker [2001] HCA 52; 206 CLR 459 - Ingot Investments Pty Limited v Macquarie Equity Capital Markets Limited [2008] NSWCA 206; 73 NSWLR 653 - Janssen-Cilag Pty Limited v Pfizer Pty Limited [1992] FCA 437; 37 FCR 526 - Jones v Dunkel [1959] HCA 8; 101 CLR 298 - Jonsson v Arkway Pty Ltd [2003] NSWSC 815; 58 NSWLR 451 at 456-457 - Michalopoulos v Perpetual Trustees Victoria Ltd [2010] NSWSC 1450 - Pan Pharmaceuticals v Natural Care [2008] FCAFC 2; 165 FCR 230 - Perpetual Trustee Co Limited v Khoshaba [2006] NSWCA 41 - Perpetual Trustees Victoria Limited v Longobardi [2009] NSWSC 654 - Riz v Perpetual Trustee Australia Ltd [2007] NSWSC 1153 - Smith v Noss [2006] NSWCA 37 - St George Bank Limited v Trimarchi [2004] NSWCA 120 - Taco Company of Australia Inc v Taco Bell Pty Limited [1982] FCA 136; 42 ALR 177 - Toll (FGCT) Pty Limited v Alphafarm Pty Limited [2004] HCA 52; 219 CLR 165 - Tonto Home Loans Australia Pty Ltd v Tavares [2011] NSWCA 389 - Wilton v Farnworth [1948] HCA 20; 76 CLR 646 Category: Principal judgment Parties: Perpetual Trustees Victoria Ltd (Plaintiff/First Cross-defendant) Donka Knezevic (Defendant/Cross Claimant) Makhoul Legal Corporation Pty Limited trading as Makhoul Symond Solicitors and Attorneys (Second Cross-defendant) Representation: Counsel: S Docker (Plaintiff/First Cross-defendant) M J Lee SC / A D Crossland (Defendant/Cross-claimant) K Stern SC (Second Cross-defendant) Solicitors: Kemp Strang (Plaintiff/First Cross-defendant) Marsdens Law Group (Defendant/Cross-claimant) Colin Biggers & Paisley (Second Cross-defendant) File Number(s): 2007/263417