Breskvar v Wall
Breskvar v Wall, was an Australian court case, decided in the High Court on 13 December 1971. The case was an influential decision in property law, specifically the effect of obtaining title by registration under the Torrens title system, the application of the fraud exception to the principle of indefeasibility and whether Frazer v Walker should be followed in Australia. The High Court followed Frazer v Walker in upholding that a bona fide purchaser for value without notice of the fraud obtained an effective title even though the person they purchased from was registered by fraud against the original owner. The case is best known for the succinct description of the Torrens system of registered title by Chief Justice Garfield Barwick that it "is not a system of registration of title but a system of title by registration". Facts Essentially this was a contest between two innocent parties, the Breskvars and Alban Pty Ltd in relation to the ownership of a two acre block of land at Acacia Ridge, Brisbane, each of who were victims of fraud by Petrie and Wall. Whoever succeeded would be the owner of the land, while the other party would be left to recovering damages against Petrie and Wall. Emilie & Franc Breskvar were the registered owners of the land. They took a loan of $1,200 from Petrie and gave Petrie the title documents and transfer papers as collateral. Petrie fraudulently inserted the name of his grandson G.W. Wall onto transfer papers and had it registered with Titles Office. Petrie, on behalf of Wall sold the property for $3,500 to Alban Pty Ltd who were unaware of the fraud. The Breskvars were trying to sell the land and discovered that Wall had been registered on the title and lodged a caveat in an attempt to prevent the property from being sold. The caveat was lodged after the sale to Alban Pty Ltd had been completed, but before the transfer had been registered. Trial At the time there were two approaches to indefeasibility of title under the Torrens system. The prevailing view, known as the theory of deferred indefeasibility, was that title only became indefeasible on the registration of a subsequent transfer to a bona fide purchaser for value. Under the deferred theory, because Alban Pty Ltd was not registered, Wall's title could be set aside for fraud. The Breskvars argument was, in effect, that Wall never had title to the property and so could pass no title to Alban Pty Ltd. This was because the transfer to Wall was fraudulent and because Wall's name was not on the transfer at the time of signing and so the transfer was void under the Stamp Act 1894 (Qld). The deferred theory had been rejected by the Privy Council in Frazer v Walker. If the Breskvars failed in their challenge to the registration, then the issue was whether their equitable interest in the land should be given priority over the equitable interest of Alban Pty Ltd, as a