Retention Of Title Clauses And Caveatable Interests

Summary

The Western Australia Court of Appeal (by majority) has held that a subcontractor, whose supply contract had a retention of title ("ROT") clause and who supplied materials to the owner of a property, by reason of a contract with the builder, did not have a caveatable interest over the land. The contract was between the landscaper and the builder, and the owner was not liable to the subcontractor as the owner had no notice of the ROT clause, and there was no direct debt to give rise to an equitable interest in land to secure that debt.

Facts

In Perron Investments Pty Ltd v Tim Davies Landscaping Pty Ltd [2009] WASCA 171 (7 October 2009), Link Projects contracted with the appellant, the owner of a property, to perform building works on the property. The owner engaged an architect (agent) to administer the contract. Link Projects engaged the respondent, landscapers, to perform part of the building works. The landscaper supplied landscaping services and