Neylon V Dickens
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Neylon v Dickens
977 Year 977 ( CMLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * May – Boris II, dethroned emperor (''tsar'') of Bulgaria, and his brother Roman manage to escape from captivity in Const ...
2 NZLR 35 is an often cited case regarding whether a change to a contract is a waiver or variation.


Background

The Neylons purchased the Dickens farm, with the sale agreement requiring both parties to get the consent of the High Court within 30 days. Just before the expiry of the 30 days, Neylon's solicitor realized that as his client lived in far away Haast, they would be unable to get the consent in time. Dicken's solicitor agreed to file his clients consent on the basis that the purchasers consent would arrive later, which it did, but after the expiry date. The vendors claimed that as the expiry date was not met, the sale agreement came to an end. However, the purchasers later obtained an order from the Court of Appeal for
specific performance Specific performance is an equitable remedy in the law of contract, in which a court issues an order requiring a party to perform a specific act, such as to complete performance of a contract. It is typically available in the sale of land law, b ...
. The Dickens appealed.


Held

The court held that the vendor's solicitor's agreement to file for the consent without first receiving the purchasers consent, was a valid waiver, and so the sale agreement was still a valid agreement.


References

{{Reflist Judicial Committee of the Privy Council cases on appeal from New Zealand 1977 in United Kingdom case law 1977 in New Zealand law New Zealand contract case law