Craig Anthony O'Sullivan v Michael Frederick Lewis

The case of *O'Sullivan v Lewis* concerned a dispute between the appellant, Craig Anthony O'Sullivan, and the respondent, Michael Frederick Lewis. The matter came before the Supreme Court of Queensland, with Justice Jock McDonagh presiding. The core of the dispute involved allegations of misleading and deceptive conduct in contravention of the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth) (now the *Competition and Consumer Act 2010* (Cth)).

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the respondent had engaged in conduct that was misleading or deceptive, or likely to mislead or deceive, in relation to the sale of a business. Specifically, the Court had to determine if representations made by the respondent concerning the business's profitability and financial performance were false or misleading, and if the appellant had relied upon these representations to his detriment when purchasing the business.

Justice McDonagh found that the respondent had indeed engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct. His Honour reasoned that the representations made about the business's financial position were not supported by the evidence and were likely to mislead a reasonable person in the position of the appellant. The Court applied the principles established in cases concerning misleading or deceptive conduct, focusing on the objective likelihood of the conduct misleading the target audience and the causal connection between the conduct and the appellant's loss. The Court concluded that the appellant had established the necessary elements of his claim.