Ripani v Century Legend Pty Ltd

The case of Ripani v Century Legend Pty Ltd involved a dispute between the Ripanis and the developer, Century Legend, concerning the sale of an apartment under a contract that was off-the-plan. The Ripanis alleged that Century Legend engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct by providing a computer-generated image, known as a render, in the marketing materials, which depicted the apartment with a flow-through design that was not ultimately delivered. The case raised several key legal issues, including whether the representations made by Century Legend were sufficiently precise to constitute a contravention of section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), and whether the disclaimers and exclusion clauses negated any misleading or deceptive conduct. Additionally, the court had to determine if the Ripanis relied on these representations in entering into the contract and if the misleading representations were cured by subsequent statements made by the architect.

The court found that the representations made by Century Legend were misleading and deceptive, as they did not accurately reflect the actual design and features of the apartment. The court noted that the disclaimer stating the render was an ‘artist impression’ and the exclusion clauses were not specific enough to negate the misleading effect of the representations. The court also concluded that the Ripanis had relied on the representations in entering into the contract. Furthermore, the court determined that the misleading representations were not cured by subsequent statements made by the architect before the contract was signed. The court held that the representations were actionable under section 18 of the ACL and also constituted misrepresentation in equity.

In terms of remedies, the court found it appropriate to grant relief in the nature of statutory rescission pursuant to sections 237 and 243(a) of the ACL. The court rescinded the contract of sale for the apartment, ordered the return of the bank guarantee provided by the Ripanis, and directed that damages and pre-judgment interest be paid to the Ripanis. The court also ordered that the costs of the proceeding be paid by Century Legend. This comprehensive relief aimed to restore the Ripanis to their pre-contractual position and compensate them for the loss and damage suffered due to Century Legend's misleading conduct.