Olive, N.J. & Anor v Westpac Banking Corporation & Ors [1987] FCA 551

«S0DGMENT No. ssp 8

IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

QUEENSLAND DISTRICT REGISTRY GENERAL DIVISION

QLD. No.G32 of 1985

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BETWEEN :

NEVILLE JOHN OLIVE and JOHANNA CATHERINA OLIVE Applicants

WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION First Respondent

KEVIN 0' LEARY Second Respondent

AND: SALVATORE SCIACCA and VINCENZA SCIACCA

Third Respondents

SPENDER J. BRISBANE 16 OCTOBER 1987.

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

This is an application, principally under the provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974, ('the Act') in respect of the sale and purchase of the leasehold of the Sportsman Hotel at Charleville. The third respondents, Salvatore and Vincenza

Sciacca, ('the Sciaccas') were at all material times the owners

of that hotel.

In approximately early July 1983, the Sciaccas and the applicants, Mr. and Mrs. Olive, entered into a leasehold contract that the Sciaccas would lease the premises to the Olives for a period of ten years. The price for the leasehold was $75,000, and the weekly rent $550 initially. The contract was subject to

the execution of a satisfactory lease.

The Sciaccas had placed the hotel with Earl Meredith & Co. Pty. Ltd., a hotel broker. The Sciaccas admit that that company introduced the Olives to the Sciaccas, and was the agent of the Sctaccas for the purpose of that introduction and for the purpose of receiving the deposit pursuant to the leasehold contract but deny that it was their agent for any other purpose, in particular in respect of representing the trading capacity of the hotel. The evidence establishes Meredith & Co. Pty. Ltd. was a trading corporation, and it, on behalf of the Sciaccas, made representations concerning the trading performance of the Sportsman Hotel to the applicants, through one of 1ts employees, a Robert Cowan. This information had been provided to it by the

third respondents.