Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Gary Peer and Associates Pty Ltd

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) brought a claim against Gary Peer and Associates Pty Ltd for allegedly misleading representations made concerning the nature of the interest in and the price payable for land. The claim arose from the sale of a property at Glen Eira Road, Melbourne, which was advertised with a price guide of "$600,000 Plus" and later "$650,000 Plus Buyers Should Inspect". The ACCC argued that these representations were misleading because the vendors had indicated they were not prepared to sell for less than $780,000.

The legal issues before the court were whether the advertisements constituted misleading representations concerning the price payable for the land, in breach of Section 53A of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), and if the respondent was liable for those representations. The court needed to determine if the price guide in the advertisements was a misleading representation and if the respondent was an agent of the vendors for the purposes of the claim.

The court found that the price guide in the advertisements was indeed a misleading representation. The court held that the price guide directed at a likely selling price was misleading because the vendors had indicated they were not prepared to sell for less than $780,000. The court also found that the respondent was an agent of the vendors for the purposes of the claim. The court rejected the respondent’s argument that the price guide was not a representation going to the ultimate subject matter of a negotiation, holding that the price guide was a significant factor in determining the likely selling price.

The court ordered Gary Peer and Associates Pty Ltd to pay penalties and costs.