Hardy v Your Tabs Pty Ltd (in liq)

The appeal concerned a dispute between the purchaser of a Pizza Haven franchise business and the vendor, Your Tabs Pty Ltd (in liq). The purchaser alleged that the vendor engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in breach of section 52 of the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth) by failing to disclose that development consent had been granted for a competing Pizza Hut business in the same area. The primary court had found in favour of the purchaser.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the vendor's non-disclosure of the development consent for the Pizza Hut constituted misleading or deceptive conduct. This required the court to consider the materiality of the undisclosed information, particularly in light of the fact that some members of the public may have been aware of the Pizza Hut development. The court also had to determine the appropriate measure of damages arising from this breach.

The Court of Appeal, comprising Meagher and Heydon JJA and Foster AJA, allowed the appeal in part. The court reasoned that while the non-disclosure was indeed misleading or deceptive conduct, the undisclosed information was not entirely material in the way the primary judge had assessed. Consequently, the court reduced the pre-interest component of the damages awarded to the purchaser, specifically the portion reflecting the difference between the purchase price and the business's value, by $5,000. Furthermore, the court reduced the award for accounting fees by $800. The final orders reflected these adjustments to the damages awarded.