Sibberas & Anor v Norris

This case concerned an application for special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia. The applicants, Frank Andrew Sibberas and Patricia Anna-Maria Sibberas, sought leave to appeal a decision of the Full Court concerning the conduct of a real estate agent acting for the vendor of a small business. The dispute centred on whether the agent was negligent in advising the potential buyers, who lacked commercial experience, about the business's future profitability.

The primary legal issue before the High Court was whether an experienced agent, who had cultivated a relationship of trust with the purchasers, could be found negligent for making optimistic forecasts and opinions about a business's prospects, even if those statements were not demonstrably false in an absolute sense. Specifically, the applicants argued that the agent's advice, described as a "once in a lifetime opportunity," a "goldmine," and having "great potential" at a "bargain basement price," was given without a sufficient foundation and that a reasonable agent in that position would not have made such statements, particularly given the purchasers' reliance on the agent's advice.

The applicants contended that the test for negligence in this context should not be whether the statements were absolutely untrue, but rather whether the advice was sound and competent, given with reasonable care. They argued that the Full Court erred in focusing on the absolute truth or falsity of the statements, rather than the reasonableness of the agent's conduct in offering such advice. The applicants also highlighted that the agent's duty to advise the purchasers was not in dispute, as it had been admitted at earlier stages of the proceedings, and that the agent's close relationship with the purchasers, who viewed her as a confidante, was a significant factor.