Breese v Cowper (No 2) [2003] NSWSC 132

Breese v Cowper (No 2) [2003] NSWSC 132

The appropriate measure of damages was the plaintiffs' one-third share of the profit the agreed joint venture probably would have generated, assessed using Mr Page's feasibility study based on a $1,500,000 gross realisation and a profit of $51,909, with a 25% discount for uncertainty. The plaintiffs were therefore entitled to $12,978 from the first and second defendants.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
13 March 2003
Procedural Posture
Equity Division Proceeding for Damages for Breach of Contract by Repudiation of a Property Re Development Joint Venture Agreement / Judgment on Damages After Earlier Liability Judgment
Outcome
Damages of $12,978 awarded to the plaintiffs against the first and second defendants, with declarations concerning the Development Agreement and the plaintiffs' status in the fifth defendant.
Legal Topics
['breach of Contract by Repudiation' 'assessment of Damages' 'loss of Opportunity' 'property Re Development Joint Venture' 'discount for Uncertainty']
['contract Law' 'equity' 'damages'] ['breach of Contract by Repudiation' 'assessment of Damages' 'loss of Opportunity' 'property Re Development Joint Venture' 'discount for Uncertainty']

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Procedural Posture

Equity Division Proceeding for Damages for Breach of Contract by Repudiation of a Property Re Development Joint Venture Agreement / Judgment on Damages After Earlier Liability Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ["What damages should be awarded for the plaintiffs' lost opportunity to participate in the property re-development joint venture." 'What profit the joint venture would have produced if carried through to completion.' "Whether the damages assessment should include an amount for loss of an opportunity to influence development features affecting the plaintiffs' adjoining property." 'Whether and to what extent the assessed profit should be discounted for the possibility that the venture may not have been completed.']

Ratio Decidendi

The appropriate measure of damages was the plaintiffs' one-third share of the profit the agreed joint venture probably would have generated, assessed using Mr Page's feasibility study based on a $1,500,000 gross realisation and a profit of $51,909, with a 25% discount for uncertainty. The plaintiffs were therefore entitled to $12,978 from the first and second defendants.

Court Disposition

Damages of $12,978 awarded to the plaintiffs against the first and second defendants, with declarations concerning the Development Agreement and the plaintiffs' status in the fifth defendant.

Orders

  • ['Declare that there existed a binding agreement between the first and second plaintiffs and the first, second, third and fourth defendants under which the parties agreed to purchase the property at 28 Narrabeen Park Parade, Warriewood, to develop the property and sell it as a joint venture and to divide any profit...