An accountant who reviews a contract of sale for a business at a meeting with both vendor and prospective purchaser, advises on the contract, and responds to questions about the business without disclosing that the business is not worth the contract price may engage in misleading and deceptive conduct where the circumstances give rise to a reasonable expectation of disclosure. A plaintiff's failure to obtain independent professional advice does not necessarily sever the causal connection between the misleading conduct and the loss, particularly where the plaintiff sought and relied upon the professional advice of the person who engaged in the contravening conduct.
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