Conduct preparatory to the purchase of a business through a company vehicle set up for a commercial purpose is 'in trade or commerce' under s 18 of the ACL, even where the parties are friends and the business has not yet been purchased. Where a plaintiff would not have entered the transaction at all had she known both the true purchase price and that her co-venturers were not contributing financially, damages are assessed on a 'no transaction' basis rather than a price-minus-value basis. The contributory negligence reduction under s 137B of the Competition and Consumer Act does not apply where the defendants intended to cause the loss.
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