Maurice Tarabay v Fifty Property Investments Pty Ltd

The Court held that where a building contract was found to exist between the plaintiff and the company, the company's erroneous denial that the plaintiff was a party could not constitute unconscionable conduct under s 51AA of the Trade Practices Act 1974, because there was no assumption contrary to fact from which the company unconscionably departed, and estoppel cannot operate where the assumed state of affairs is the actual state of affairs. Even if the denial were unconscionable, the plaintiff failed to establish causation under s 82 because the denial did not cause his loss — the true cause was the company's insolvency and the pre-existing commercial dispute. The tort claim for inducing breach of contract against the company's solicitor also failed because the solicitor did not procure or induce the breach, lacked the requisite intention given reliance on counsel's advice, and the plaintiff's loss would have been suffered regardless of the denial.