Chemica loses breach of contract appeal

THE National Court has dismissed attempts by Chemica Ltd to prove that WPCC Investments Ltd’s refusal to renew a commercial lease agreement was in breach of a contract.
Justice David Cannings ruled in Madang last Monday that WPCC was not obliged to renew the lease because it had given written notice of defaults on three occasions in 2009 to Chemica and those defaults had not been remedied within
a reasonable time.
“I am satisfied that they remained ‘un-remedied’ by the time of the meeting of Feb 21, 2011,” he said.
“I am also satisfied that Chemica had persistently defaulted under the lease throughout its
term.
“Either way, WPCC is not obliged to renew the lease by virtue of the exceptions created by clauses 17(a) and (b). Chemica has therefore, failed to establish a breach of contract.
“Even if I had decided the factual issues in Chemica’s favour, I am not convinced by the argument that its failure to give notice of its request to have the lease renewed within the window period of three to six months before the date of expiry of the lease was inconsequential.
“It is true that until the trial, WPCC had not taken
issue with the lateness of the request.”