Question
Deepak was sick and tired of driving taxis to make ends meet. So he became interested in buying a cafe business in the Darwin CBD.
Deepak was sick and tired of driving taxis to make ends meet. So he became interested in buying a cafe business in the Darwin CBD. He visited a cafe called 'Best Espresso' which was being advertised in the NT News as being 'for sale' and spoke to the owner (Katrina) who showed him around the cafe and kitchen area where the chefs prepared the food and drinks. Deepak noticed that there were 6 tables outside the cafe with enough seating for 24 customers. There were also 3 large fans strategically placed to keep each table reasonably cool. The cafe also displayed a prominent sign showing the business name. Deepak was impressed with the look and feel of the business and, given that he counted 65 seats, including the 24 outside, asked his accountant if it would be a profitable. His accountant said that based on the facts available it probably would be. Although it was the middle of the wet season and most days the temperature was around 34 degrees, Deepak decided to purchase the business. After the first three months he was making profit. The following week, however, Deepak received a letter from the local Council informing him that he had to remove the outside fans as the cafe never had council permission to have these. Katrina had never mentioned anything about these fans and remained silent when they were discussing the outside area. Deepak was very annoyed that he couldn't keep his outside customers cool and after a few days, almost no customers sat outside. As a result he was losing trade, thus reducing profit. The following month he began losing money as he was only utilising around two thirds of the available seating and the funky atmosphere of the caf was altered. If he could use all 65 tables he could reasonably rely on a profit of $1000 each week, but with the use of only 51 tables, and with the change of atmosphere, he estimates his business may be unsustainable.Can the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) help Deepak? If so, how? Discuss any defences available to your chosen defendant/s in response to any action taken by Deepak. Outline any possible remedies available to Deepak under the Act if the tribunal finds in his favour. Refer to the relevant sections of the Act and case law in your answer. (NB. You are not required to use contract law in this answer.) ( Answer according to IRACC model )
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