FORREST V. SCOTT

6.19280/45

HL Dow, Gor. Print, Melb.

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF AUS=:2ALIA — |

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REASONS FOR JUDGMENT { i — | 29 fe |

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LATHAM C.J.

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VY Appeal from Full Court, which allowed an : appeal from a judgment of Clark J. for £320 in favour of the plaintiff (the appellant in this court) in an action for deceit and breach of warranty. The appellant, Mrs. Forrest, bought a carrying business from the defendant. She answered an adver= tisement and the defendant then wrote her a letter in which he described the business which he had for sale. The letter was in the following terms:~ "I received your letter to-day in answer to my advertisement in Saturday's Mercury. I will give you details of the business. One Ford V.8. 1942 Lease Lend Model truck 4 ton with 11 tyres of which 4 nearly new. One 1934 Model Ford V.8 truck 2 ton recently fitted with reconditioned engine and has been fitted with several new parts. This also has 11 tyres of which 4 are new. The carting consists of produce of all kinds to and from railway the distance ranging from 4 to 15 miles. The charge being 1/- per mile per ton. I have customers in Tunnack, Baden, Whiteford, Woodsdale, Levendale, Eldon, Mt. Seymour and Colebrook. My price is £780 the lot and the earnings are about £1,000 a year.

Perhaps you could come and see for yourself and I would be able to tell you more then."

The plaintiff and her husband saw the defendant and had several conversations with him and she ultimately bought the business for £780.

The learned trial judge found that several statements contained in the letter were untrue to the knowledge of the defendant. The Ford V.8 truck did not contain a 1942 engine, but an engine of earlier date which had been reconditioned. The charge which the defendant had made for carting was not 1/- per mile pex ton to and from the railway station, but was 1/- per ton from the railway station and only 6d. per ton to the railway , station. The earnings of the business, if earnings meant receipts, | had been near enough to £1000 a year to make the statement about earnings substantially true, but if "earnings" were interpreted as