On 15 May 2026, the Supreme Court of New South Wales (Williams J) delivered judgment in Keci v Barnes [2026] NSWSC 521. The proceeding concerned a claim by purchasers of a Bronte home for rescission of a $6.2 million contract for sale of land and repayment of a $310,000 deposit.
The purchasers alleged they were induced into the contract by misrepresentations made by the vendors’ selling agents, who told them that nine units would be built on the adjoining construction site and this development would not obstruct the ocean views from the property, without disclosing that the vendors were aware that a proposed 100 to 120 dwelling development on the same site had been declared state significant development by the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces.
Williams J held that implied representations had been made by the vendors’ agents and that those representations were misleading. Her Honour found that while those representations were not the sole reason the plaintiffs entered into the contract, they were a sufficiently material inducing factor [97]. The Court exercised its discretion to rescind the contract and ordered the $310,000 deposit be refunded to the purchasers. As Williams J emphasised, “The lack of a positive general duty of disclosure is not a licence for a vendor of land to make misrepresentations, expressly or impliedly, concerning a matter about which they were entitled to remain silent” [57].
For vendors and their agents, this case serves as a reminder that implied misrepresentation can arise not from what is said, but from what is left unsaid. For purchasers, it shows that a non-reliance clause will not necessarily defeat a claim for rescission where implied misrepresentations can be established.
Counsel for the plaintiffs were Peter Newton SC and Ned Hirst of 11 St James Hall, instructed by Weinberger Lawyers. A link to the judgment is available here: