Reserve Capital v Seascapes Supermarket WA Pty Ltd

This case concerns the admissibility of expert opinion evidence in a dispute over the sale of Seascapes IGA supermarket in Halls Head. The plaintiff, Reserve Capital, seeks to rely on the expert opinion evidence of two experts, Haydn Baker and Keith Lewis, to establish that the defendants' representations regarding the performance of the Seascapes IGA business were misleading and that the true value of the business at the time of sale was less than the purchase price paid. The defendants object to the proposed expert opinion evidence on grounds of inadmissibility. The court must consider whether the experts are qualified to give expert opinion evidence, whether the opinion evidence is based on admissible facts, and whether the opinion evidence is relevant to the issues in dispute. In relation to the opinion evidence of Mr Baker, the court found that he is not qualified to give expert business valuation evidence because he has not demonstrated the requisite expertise, skill or training in business valuation. The court found that Mr Lewis is qualified to give expert opinion evidence about the financial performance of the Seascapes IGA in the 2015 financial year, but that some of his opinion evidence is inadmissible because it is not based on admissible facts. The court found that some of Mr Lewis' opinion evidence should be reserved for determination at trial. The court gave directions for the parties to further discuss the orders that should be made to reflect these reasons for decision, including orders as to costs.