Leda Holdings Pty Ltd v Oraka Pty Ltd

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT 1 This cross-claim is the remaining matter to be resolved from the issues of a larger dispute which has already been resolved by a final order of a full court. The original matter was a claim brought by the cross-respondents as applicants against the cross-claimant as respondent in which (inter alia) contraventions of s 52 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 were alleged in relation to the inducement of the company Oraka Pty Limited (0raka) to enter into a lease of a shop at a new shopping centre, and in relation to the inducement of Mr Johnson to give a guarantee in respect of that lease. At the time the action was instituted, proceedings were pending in a local court in which the cross-claimant was claiming rent. Those proceedings were transferred to this court, but the course taken was to pursue the matter of the claim for rent, together with other claims, by way of cross-claim. At the hearing of the proceeding, that is, of both the principal action and the cross-claim, I took the view that the applicants should succeed; I awarded Oraka a sum of damages; I varied the agreement for lease, and also the lease, both which had been entered into on 11 February 1994, so as to eliminate certain obligations in respect of rent and other payments; I set aside the guarantees given by Mr Johnson; I made an order requiring Leda Holdings Pty Limited (Leda) to indemnify the applicants in certain respects; I dismissed the cross-claim; and I ordered Leda to pay the costs of Oraka and Mr Johnson of the claim and cross-claim. On appeal, the majority of the Full Court took the view that a particular misrepresentation, which I had held proved, had not been shown to have been relied upon so as to ground the claims made by Oraka and Mr Johnson. Accordingly, the following orders were made, as appears from the report of the Full Court's decision (Leda Holdings Pty Limited v Oraka Pty Limited (1998) ATPR 40,501 at 40,518): "The Court orders that: