a real estate developer. develops residential apartment complexes in the Wollongong local area. The developer purchases a large block of land for $2 million and plans to build a large apartment on the block at a considerable profit. But the 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 land to $1 million.

The developerobtained a council certificate from the Council before he purchased the 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 the Council in the certificate. There is no such disclosure in the certificate. The developer 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 the 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.

now the developer wants to suethe Council in negligence for economic loss. 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