We are pleased to announce that our purchaser client has secured another victory in the Federal Court, successfully rescinding a contract of the sale of a $10 million luxury apartment. The Court found that the developer/vendor engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct, inducing our client to proceed with the purchase under false pretences.
The dispute centred on the discrepancy between the developer’s computer-generated renders and the final build. The renders depicted a balcony opening spanning approximately 10-12 meters, which was a key selling feature for our client. However, the completed structure included an opening of less than 4 meters—well short of what was represented.
This matter had a complex history. Our clients first commenced proceedings in 2020 in the Federal Court, securing a favourable outcome before Justice Anastassiou. The developer subsequently appealed, succeeding on one ground, which led to a re-trial focused solely on whether our client relied on the representations made by the developer and its architect/interior designer regarding the opening’s width, before the Contract was unconditional.
The developer contended that an interior designer with its architectural firm, had made verbal representations to our clients that they say were akin to warnings that the developer could not build the large opening. However, her Honour Justice Neskovcin found that our clients reasonably relied on the developer’s computer generated render and the promise of a large opening at the time the Contract of Sale was fully executed. Consequently, the Court ordered the rescission of the Contract of Sale.
We are pleased to have achieved this outcome for our clients.
Anthony Ghabrial | Partner
E anthonyg@zervoslawyers.com.au
