The Supreme Court of Western Australia entered judgment for the plaintiff lessor, finding the defendant lessee breached its covenant to maintain and repair the warehouse premises and to yield them up in good and substantial repair, and dismissed the defendant's counterclaim. The Court construed the lease covenants in the context of a lease that expressly permitted storage of corrosive fertiliser, addressing the tension between the lessee's repair obligations and the lessor's obligation to prevent water ingress, and found the fair wear and tear exception did not relieve the lessee of liability for corrosion damage caused by its storage activities. The case also addressed limitation period issues for continuing covenant breaches, the proper basis for assessing damages by reference to rectification costs, and rejected the defendant's conventional estoppel defence and contributory negligence arguments.
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