Bullabidgee Pty Ltd v McCleary [2011] NSWCA 259

Court of Appeal Supreme Court New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Bullabidgee Pty Ltd v McCleary [2011] NSWCA 259 Hearing dates: 29 June 2011 Decision date: 02 September 2011 Before: Allsop P at 1 Basten JA at 86 Young JA at 87 Decision: On or before 23 September 2011 the parties place in the Court of Appeal submissions box and serve any submissions on the form of orders including costs, having on or before 16 September 2011 served on each other draft submissions. [Note: The Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 provide (Rule 36.11) that unless the Court otherwise orders, a judgment or order is taken to be entered when it is recorded in the Court's computerised court record system. Setting aside and variation of judgments or orders is dealt with by Rules 36.15, 36.16, 36.17 and 36.18. Parties should in particular note the time limit of fourteen days in Rule 36.16.] Catchwords: TRADE AND COMMERCE - Fair Trading Act 1987 (NSW) - misleading and deceptive conduct - representations concerning matters connected with purchase of rural land - and (second) as to reliability of valuations in existence - reliance on Act not waived.

TRADE AND COMMERCE - Fair Trading Act 1987 (NSW) - causation and relief - tortious analogue of loss not to be applied - misleading and deceptive conduct affected price negotiations - proper form of relief in circumstances - appropriate to order return of deposits.

CONTRACT - election - affirmation - no affirmation in circumstances where purchasers sought to enforce rights as qualified by statutory remedies. Legislation Cited: Conveyancing Act 1919 (NSW), s 55(2A) Fair Trading Act 1987 (NSW), ss 42, 68, 68(1), 72, 72(5)(a) Fair Trading Amendment (Australian Consumer Law) Act 2010 (NSW), Sch 1 Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth), ss 82(1), 87 Cases Cited: Abraham v Mallon (1975) 1 BPR 9157 Baird v Chambers (2010) 15 BPR 28,337 Barnes v Hay (1988) 12 NSWLR 337 Butcher v Lachlan Elder Realty Pty Ltd [2004] HCA 60; 218 CLR 592 Campbell v Backoffice Investments Pty Ltd [2009] HCA 25; 238 CLR 304 Campomar Sociedad, Limitada v Nike International Ltd [2000] HCA 12; 202 CLR 45 Chappel v Hart [1998] HCA 55; 195 CLR 232 Chester v Afshar [2004] UKHL 41; [2005] 1 AC 134 Elbourne v Gibbs [2006] NSWCA 127 Environmental Agency v Empress Car Co (Abertillery) Ltd [1998] UKHL 5; [1999] 2 AC 22 Fitzgerald v Penn [1954] HCA 74; 91 CLR 268 Gates v City Mutual Life Assurance Society Ltd [1986] HCA 3; 160 CLR 1 Henville v Walker [2001] HCA 52; 206 CLR 459 I & L Securities Pty Ltd v HTW Valuers (Brisbane) Pty Ltd [2002] HCA 41; 210 CLR 109 Janssen-Gilag Pty Ltd v Pfizer Pty Ltd (1992) 37 FCR 526 Kizbeau Pty Ltd v WG & B Pty Ltd [1995] HCA 4; 184 CLR 281 Kuwait Airways Corporation v Iraqi Airways Co (Nos 4 and 5) [2002] UKHL 19; [2002] 2 AC 883 March v Stramare (E & MH) Pty Ltd [1991] HCA 12; 171 CLR 506 Marks v GIO Australia Holdings Ltd [1998] HCA 69; 196 CLR 494 McCarthy v McIntyre [1999] FCA 784 Murphy v Overton Investments Pty Ltd [2004] HCA 3; 216 CLR 388 Rosenberg v Percival [2001] HCA 18; 205 CLR 434 Sellars v Adelaide Petroleum NL [1994] HCA 4; 179 CLR 332 Travel Compensation Fund v Tambree (t/as R Tambree & Associates) [2005] HCA 69; 224 CLR 627 Wardley Australia Ltd v Western Australia [1992] HCA 55; 175 CLR 514 Texts Cited: J D Heydon Cross on Evidence (8th Aust Ed 2010) Category: Principal judgment Parties: Bullabidgee Pty Ltd (First Appellant) Towool Pty Ltd (Second Appellant) Towool West Pty Ltd (Third Appellant) Towool Water Pty Ltd (Fourth Appellant) Warrawool Pty Ltd (Fifth Appellant) Warrawool North Pty Ltd (Sixth Appellant) Warrawool Water Pty Ltd (Seventh Appellant) MHD Echuca Pty Ltd (Eighth Appellant) Ian Tayles (Ninth Appellant) Brian John McCleary & Peter Joseph Rae (First Respondent) JP & M Kerr (Billabidgee) Pty Ltd (Second Respondent) Bullatale Pastoral Pty Ltd (Third Respondent) Representation: R S Angyal SC, A D Justice (Appellants) B A Coles QC, S Galitsky (Respondents) Maurice Blackburn Commercial Lawyers, Melbourne (Appellants) Francis Kelly & Grant, Deniliquin (Respondents) File Number(s): 2008/278153 Decision under appeal Jurisdiction: 9111 Citation: Bullabidgee Pty Ltd v McCleary; McCleary v Bullabidgee Pty Ltd [2010] NSWSC 145 Date of Decision: 2010-04-19 00:00:00 Before: Brereton J File Number(s): 1813 of 2008; 2244 of 2008