Hadgelias Holdings and Waight v Seirlis

Hadgelias Holdings and Waight v Seirlis involved a dispute between agents and their vendors, on one side, and a buyer, on the other, regarding the sale of an apartment. The agents had made false representations about the number of car parks allocated to the apartment, which led to the buyer entering into the contract. The buyer sought damages for the misleading and deceptive conduct of the agents under the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) and the Fair Trading Act 1989. The agents and vendors appealed against the damages awarded by the trial judge, and the buyer cross-appealed on the assessment of damages.

The court was required to decide whether the trial judge had erred in finding that one agent had made a different and distinct representation that attracted the application of the Fair Trading Act to his conduct. The court also needed to determine whether the agents and vendors performed a single set of acts which caused loss, and if so, whether they were “concurrent wrongdoers” within the meaning of the Trade Practices Act so as to allow apportionment of liability between them. Finally, the court had to consider whether the value of the apartment was correctly assessed, and whether the award of interest under the Civil Proceedings Act amounted to adequate compensation for the buyer's loss.

The court held that the trial judge was correct in finding that one agent had made a different and distinct representation that attracted the application of the Fair Trading Act to his conduct. The agents and vendors did not perform a single set of acts which caused loss, and therefore could not be regarded as “concurrent wrongdoers” within the meaning of the Trade Practices Act. The court also held that the trial judge had assessed the value of the apartment correctly, and that the award of interest under the Civil Proceedings Act was adequate compensation for the buyer's loss.

The court dismissed the appeals of the agents, vendors and buyer, and allowed the parties two weeks from the date of the judgment to make submissions on costs.