It could have been the perfect crime: an intentional fire in an empty property to claim landlord insurance. There were no eye witnesses, no victims and no direct evidence either that the landlord consented to the fire or that his friend, Mr Sen, had lit it. If only Mr Sen hadn’t left his mobile phone behind.

Google searches: the go-to research tool of modern times.  But what happens when this tool is misused?  Or if the search results link to defamatory or misleading material? 

As a general rule, a beneficiary of an unconditional undertaking is entitled to convert the security into cash, unless to do so would be fraudulent, unconscionable, or in breach of a clear term of the contract restricting that ability.  It requires ‘clear words’ to inhibit a beneficiary from calling on a performance guarantee where a breach is alleged in good faith i.e. non-fraudulently.

The Personal Property Securities Act world was almost turned on its head by Justice Brereton’s decision In the matter of OneSteel Manufacturing Pty Limited (administrators appointed) [2017] NSWSC 21 but not for the reason you might think.