Tabcorp Manager Pty Ltd v Vancelow Pty Ltd & Ors [1997] FCA 761

Tabcorp Manager Pty Ltd v Vancelow Pty Ltd & Ors [1997] FCA 761

The agreement was for a period of five years. The words "such other term" in cl 4 referred to a period of time, and the licence specified a five-year term, not a lesser term tied to the subsistence of the liquor licence. The licence condition requiring compliance with the Act did not shorten the contractual term. Clause 21.1.1 expressly contemplated cancellation of the venue operator's licence, including cancellation under s 28(2)(a), and left the agreement on foot subject to termination at the TAB's discretion.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
11 August 1997
Procedural Posture
Contracts Proceeding Alleging Repudiation of an Agreement for Installation and Operation of Gaming Machines / Trial of Separate Question Pursuant to Federal Court Rules O 29 R 2(a)
Outcome
Separate question answered in favour of the applicant's construction: question 1(i) Yes; question 1(ii) No.
Legal Topics
['construction of Contractual Term' "venue Operator's Licence" 'effect of Transfer of Liquor Licence' 'cancellation of Gaming Licence Under Gaming Machine Control Act 1991 (vic)']
['contracts' 'gaming Regulation' 'statutory Interpretation'] ['construction of Contractual Term' "venue Operator's Licence" 'effect of Transfer of Liquor Licence' 'cancellation of Gaming Licence Under Gaming Machine Control Act 1991 (vic)']

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Procedural Posture

Contracts Proceeding Alleging Repudiation of an Agreement for Installation and Operation of Gaming Machines / Trial of Separate Question Pursuant to Federal Court Rules O 29 R 2(a)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the period of the agreement was five years.' 'Whether the agreement was for five years subject to the Gaming Machine Control Act 1991 (Vic), in particular ss 26 and 28(2)(a), with the effect that it lasted only while the hotel liquor licence subsisted.']

Ratio Decidendi

The agreement was for a period of five years. The words "such other term" in cl 4 referred to a period of time, and the licence specified a five-year term, not a lesser term tied to the subsistence of the liquor licence. The licence condition requiring compliance with the Act did not shorten the contractual term. Clause 21.1.1 expressly contemplated cancellation of the venue operator's licence, including cancellation under s 28(2)(a), and left the agreement on foot subject to termination at the TAB's discretion.

Court Disposition

Separate question answered in favour of the applicant's construction: question 1(i) Yes; question 1(ii) No.

Orders

  • ['Answer the questions to be tried pursuant to the Order made 2 July 1997 as follows: (i) Yes (ii) No' 'Question of costs adjourned for argument on a date to be fixed.' 'Affidavits to be relied on for the purposes of any argument as to costs to be filed and served within 14 days.']