Wakeling v Ripley (1951)

Case Facts for Wakeling v Ripley (1951):

Ripley was an elderly and wealthy man and he was residing in Sydney. He was living alone in his large house. Ripley had a sister who was living with her husband in England and they are the Wakeling.

Ripley wrote to his sister and asked them to move to Sydney and live with him in his house. In the letter, Ripley promised them that they can live in his house for free and that they will be the heir to his home when he dies and this will be stated in his will.

Due to this promise of Ripley, the Wakelings sold their home in England. His brother-in-law also resigned from his work, and the couple moved to Sydney.

A year went by and Ripley and the Wakelings had a falling out and, because of this, Ripley sold his house. He also changed his will be removing the Wakelings as heir to his home. The Wakelings then filed a case against Ripley for breach of contract.

Case Issue:

The issue of the case was whether or not the agreement between the family members was legally enforceable.

Case Decision:

It was decided by the court that the circumstances which arose from the family members result in a legally binding contract.

Case Reason/s:

The court ruled in favor of the Wakelings because of the letter between the parties. The letter clearly stated that the Wakelings wanted the agreement to be legally binding before the decision to emigrate to Sydney.

In order to show the intention, Ripley included them in his will. Therefore, the consequences for the Wakelings in emigrating were serious but they were ready to do it as long as they have an assurance, which is the agreement that was made for them by Ripley.