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