Taylor v Hobson

[2019] QSC 4

SUPREME COURT OF QUEENSLAND

CITATION:

Taylor & Anor v Hobson & Ors [2019] QSC 4

PARTIES:

ALAN JOHN JEFFREY TAYLOR

(First Plaintiff) AND

WANDANI PTY LTD (ACN 001 968 684)

(Second Plaintiff)

v

RODERICK GEORGE HOBSON

(First Defendant) AND

HOBSON INVESTMENTS (NQ) PTY LTD (ACN 102 617 050)

(Second Defendant) AND

ROBERTS NEHMER MCKEE

(Third Defendant) AND

MALCOLM FISHER

(Fourth Defendant)

FILE NO/S:

No 15 of 2014

DIVISION:

Trial Division

PROCEEDING:

Trial

ORIGINATING COURT:

Supreme Court at Mackay

DELIVERED ON:

17 January 2019

DELIVERED AT:

Rockhampton

HEARING DATE:

18 and 29 October 2018

JUDGE:

Crow J

ORDER:

1. Judgment for the first plaintiff and the second plaintiff against the first defendant and the second defendant for damages to be assessed.

CATCHWORDS:

PROCEDURE – CIVIL PROCEEDINGS IN STATE AND TERRITORY COURTS – PLEADINGS – GENERALLY –

where the plaintiffs applied to amend the further amended statement of claim after the expiration of the limitation period

– whether the new cause of action arises out of the same facts or substantially the same facts

TRADE AND COMMERCE – COMPETITION, FAIR TRADING AND CONSUMER PROTECTION LEGISLATION – CONSUMER PROTECTION – MISLEADING OR DECEPTIVE CONDUCT OR FALSE

REPRESENTATIONS – FALSE REPRESENTATIONS

GENERALLY – where the second plaintiff as purchaser entered into a share sale agreement with the second defendant as vendor – whether the first defendant made representations to the first plaintiff - whether representations were false – whether representations were relied upon in entering into agreement – whether representations were misleading – whether second plaintiff would have entered into agreement had representations not been made

Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth), ss 52, 53A

Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld), r 376(4)

Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld)

Matthews v Ross Neilson Investments Pty Ltd & Ors [1995] FCA 1009

Brisbane Airport Corporation Pty Ltd v Arup Pty Ltd [2017] QSC 232

Adcock Private Equity v Porges [2018] NSWSC 1363

COUNSEL:

G D Beacham QC with F Chen for the Plaintiffs

D A Savage QC with A Raeburn for the First and Second Defendants

SOLICITORS:

Bartley Cohen for the Plaintiffs

Connolly Suthers Lawyers for the Defendants

Factual Background

1. The first defendant, Mr Hobson, is the sole director of the second defendant. The second defendant (“Hobson Investments”) is the trustee company for the Hobson Family Trust. Hobson Investments holds two shares in another company, Prawns North Pty Ltd (“Prawns North”), as trustee for the Hobson Family Trust.

1. From in or about 2001 until 2008, Prawns North held licenses for and conducted prawn and barramundi aquaculture from a property known as “Saltwater” located at Rollingstone. When it was a going concern, that property was valued by Herron Todd White Valuers (“HTW”) in a valuation report dated 12 June 2003 as having an estimated value of $2,800,000.1

2. The land upon which the Saltwater aquaculture venture had been conducted is crown land which had been leased by the crown to Hobson Investments.

1. Mr Hobson who had long experience in earthmoving construction, had previously conducted the Prawns North…