Sagona v R & C Piccoli Investments Pty Ltd & Ors

The Supreme Court of Victoria, presided over by Whelan J, considered a dispute between the applicant, Sagona, and the respondents, R & C Piccoli Investments Pty Ltd and others. The core of the disagreement concerned the enforceability of a deed of settlement and release, which Sagona sought to set aside on the grounds of misleading and deceptive conduct. Sagona alleged that the respondents had made representations that were false and misleading, inducing Sagona to enter into the settlement agreement.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the deed of settlement and release was vitiated by misleading and deceptive conduct contrary to section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). This required the Court to determine if the representations made by the respondents were indeed misleading or deceptive, and if so, whether Sagona relied on those representations to its detriment when executing the deed. The Court also had to consider the effect of the deed itself, which contained standard clauses purporting to exclude reliance on representations not contained within the document.

Whelan J found that the respondents had engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct. His Honour concluded that the representations made by the respondents were material to Sagona's decision to enter into the deed and that Sagona had relied upon these representations. The Court rejected the respondents' argument that the deed's exclusion clauses prevented Sagona from relying on the misleading conduct, holding that such clauses could not operate to permit or condone contraventions of the ACL. Consequently, the deed of settlement and release was set aside.