Malki v Nicholas & Mann Real Estate Pty Ltd

In *Malki v Nicholas & Mann Real Estate Pty Ltd*, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an appeal concerning the enforceability of a contract for the sale of land. The appellant, Mr Malki, sought to resile from the contract, alleging that the respondent, Nicholas & Mann Real Estate Pty Ltd, had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth) and the *Contracts Review Act 1980* (NSW).

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the respondent's conduct constituted misleading or deceptive conduct, and if so, whether this conduct rendered the contract unjust and therefore liable to be reviewed or set aside under the *Contracts Review Act*. Specifically, the Court had to determine if representations made by the real estate agent regarding the property's suitability for a particular purpose were false or misleading, and if such representations induced Mr Malki to enter into the contract.

The Court of Appeal, upholding the primary judge's decision, found that the representations made by the real estate agent were not misleading or deceptive. The Court reasoned that the agent had merely conveyed information provided by the vendor and had not made any independent representations of fact that were untrue. Furthermore, the Court held that even if there had been some misstatement, it did not render the contract unjust in the circumstances, particularly given the appellant's opportunity to conduct his own investigations. The principles applied centred on the interpretation of representations in contractual negotiations and the threshold for establishing misleading or deceptive conduct and unjust contracts.

Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and the contract for the sale of land was upheld.