You are required to read the following case study and prepare a 1,200 (+- 10%) word assignment following the IRAC structure.
Peter the Real Estate Developer
Peter is a real estate developer. He develops residential apartment complexes in the Wollongong
local area. He purchases a large block of land for $2 million and plans to build a large apartment
complex on the block at a considerable profit. But Wollongong Council denies his development
application on the basis of a road widening proposal that will substantially reduce the size of the
block. This road widening proposal reduces the value of the block of Peter’s land to $1 million.
Peter obtained a council certificate from Wollongong Council before he purchased the
block of land. He reviews the information in the certificate. If the block of land had been subject to a road widening proposal then it should have been disclosed by Wollongong Council in the certificate. There is no such disclosure in the certificate. As Peter didn’t bother to read the certificate before he purchased the land, he is relieved to find the council has made this mistake. He secretly knows that if Wollongong Council had been careful and included the road widening disclosure in the certificate, he would not have seen it and gone ahead with the land purchase anyway.
Peter now wants to sue Wollongong Council in negligence for economic loss. Wollongong Council
claims that negligence only applies to physical actions, not written words, and is only applicable to
physical damage to people or their property, not economic loss.
Advise Peter.