Moss v Lowe Hunt & Partners Pty Ltd

The case of Moss v Lowe Hunt & Partners Pty Ltd involved Mr Moss, the sole director of Pegasus, who was employed by Lowe Hunt, a company for which he had previously provided services through his company, Pegasus. The primary dispute was whether Lowe Hunt's misleading conduct about its financial position caused Mr Moss to lose the opportunity to earn more income through his consultancy business, Pegasus. The court had to determine if this loss of opportunity constituted compensable economic loss under the Trade Practices Act and the Fair Trading Act.

The key legal issues before the court were whether Lowe Hunt's misleading conduct about its financial stability constituted misleading or deceptive conduct under the Trade Practices Act and the Fair Trading Act, and if so, whether this conduct led to a loss of opportunity for Mr Moss to earn more income through his consultancy, Pegasus. The court had to decide if the loss of such an opportunity amounted to compensable economic loss. The court also needed to assess the credibility of Mr Moss and Mr Colman, as their testimonies were central to resolving the factual disputes.

The court found that Lowe Hunt's misleading conduct about its financial position was indeed misleading or deceptive. Despite Mr Colman's high regard for Mr Moss's skills and his efforts to recruit Mr Moss, the court accepted Mr Moss's evidence as credible and found that the misleading conduct did cause him to lose the opportunity to earn more through his consultancy. The court concluded that the loss of this opportunity amounted to compensable economic loss under the Trade Practices Act and the Fair Trading Act. Consequently, Pegasus was entitled to damages for the lost income and benefits.

The court ordered Lowe Hunt to pay damages to Pegasus for the loss of income and benefits that Mr Moss would have earned had he not been misled about the company's financial position. The exact amount of damages was to be determined based on the lost income and benefits during the relevant period.