Australia, July 22 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on June 20:

1. The plaintiff and the defendant are cousins. They live next to each other on Oxford Street in Guildford.

2. On 18 March 2022, the parties executed an agreement (Agreement) whereby the defendant agreed to sell to the plaintiff her home at X Oxford Street, Guildford (Property) for $1,150,000. The document executed was not in the form of the standard contract for sale of land in New South Wales. Far from it. It was a one page document in the parties native Thai language which the defendant had obtained from a website in Thailand. None of the usual documents were attached. No time for completion was set out in the Agreement.

3. The plaintiff paid the defendant a deposit.

4. As events transpired the transaction did not complete and in February 2023 the defendant sold the Property to her son for a stated price of $925,000, although 20 percent of that was returned to her son as a gift.

5. By these proceedings, the plaintiff seeks to recover $170,000 paid to the defendant pursuant to the Agreement, together with interest and costs. A significant number of legal arguments were deployed by the parties.

6. The proceedings were heard on 5, 6 and 8 May 2025. Mr A Hopkins appeared for the plaintiff and Mr S Sykes for the defendant. The plaintiff and defendant, and each of their sons, gave evidence and were cross examined.

7. For the reasons set out below, save for the return of $20,000 paid by the plaintiff to the defendant, the plaintiff's claims fail. I will give the parties an opportunity to agree orders, including as to costs, failing which any remaining issues will be determined on the papers.

Application to amend defence

8. At the commencement of the hearing on 5 May 2025 the defendant applied to amend her defence. The proposed amendment - annexed to an affidavit of her instructing solicitor, John Ho (Mr Ho), made 5 May 2025 - alleged that the plaintiff repudiated the Agreement by purporting to terminate it in writing on 25 October 2022, which repudiation was accepted by the defendant.

*Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/197814d69d49a433c553f977)

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