Norton Property Group Pty Ltd v Ozzy States Pty Ltd (in liq)

[2020] NSWCA 23

NSW Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Contract
2. › Construction of written contracts
3. › Real estate agent buyers agency agreement
4. › Entitlement to commission
5. › Whether entry into option agreements constituted entry into 'a contract for the purchase of the Property'
6. › Whether option agreements that were never exercised triggered buying fee
7. › Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 2002 (NSW), ss 55, 63, 65
1. Consumer Law
2. › Misleading and deceptive conduct
3. › Demands for payment under contract
4. › Whether demands were representations of fact or expressions of opinion
5. › Statement of legal conclusion as to contractual entitlement
6. › Whether prohibition turns on form of words used or nature of impugned conduct
7. › Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), Sch 2, ss 18, 236

Quick Take

Practitioners advising real estate agents and property developers should note that demands for payment based on a genuinely held view of contractual entitlement, where the underlying facts are undisputed and the legal question is genuinely arguable, are unlikely to constitute misleading or deceptive conduct under s 18 of the Australian Consumer Law.