Esanda Finance Corporation Limited v Contractor Services Pty Ltd

Esanda Finance Corporation Limited sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia against a decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia. The respondents were Contractor Services Pty Ltd and the Willoughby family, along with Mark Willoughby Investments Pty Ltd. The dispute concerned allegations of misrepresentation made by Esanda Finance Corporation in relation to the purchase of a hotel by the Willoughby family.

The High Court was required to determine whether the Full Court of the Federal Court had erred in its findings regarding the inducement of the purchase of the hotel by the Willoughbys due to misleading conduct by Esanda. Specifically, the application for special leave focused on the Full Court's finding that a misrepresentation, namely that the previous owners had been servicing a loan of an equivalent amount, had induced the Willoughbys to purchase the property.

The Full Court had overturned the trial judge's finding that no misrepresentations were made or that any made were true. The Full Court found that Esanda, through an agent named Smith, had made a misleading statement concerning the servicing of a loan by the previous owners. While this finding of a misleading statement was not challenged, the subsequent finding that this misrepresentation induced the Willoughbys to purchase the hotel was the subject of the special leave application. The High Court was therefore considering whether to grant leave to appeal on the issue of causation of loss stemming from the misrepresentation.