Question
Fleur operates a popular French patisserie in the Melbourne CBD. In early 2018, Fleur secured a long-term contract to supply pastries to a major supermarket
Fleur operates a popular French patisserie in the Melbourne CBD. In early 2018, Fleur secured a long-term contract to supply pastries to a major supermarket chain. To meet the production demands of the contract, she decides to purchase an industrial sized dough mixer for their food production facility. The following week, while attending a family barbeque, Fleur spoke to her brother Thibault about the purchase. Thibault is a registered tax agent and informs Fleur that she would be able to claim depreciation on the mixer. The pair continue to discuss the purchase and Thibault records some rough figures on his phone. Thibault tells Fleur that he would include the mixer in her annual tax return, which he was coincidently in the process of preparing. The following day, Thibault provides the figures recorded in his phone to a junior assistant and instructs them to calculate the amount of depreciation for the mixer. The junior assistant prepares the calculations, but Thibault is too busy to check whether they are correct. Thibault then proceeds to prepare Fleur's tax return based on the junior assistant's calculations. A few years later it is discovered that there is an error in the depreciation calculations, which has meant that Fleur has paid much more tax than owed ($37,000 in total). It is further discovered that the junior assistant that prepared the calculations was inexperienced and not qualified to provide accountancy or tax advice. With a downturn in the local economy, Fleur is struggling to balance the books of her business. In desperate measures, she visits Thibault at his office and demands that he pay her the $37,000 in overpaid tax. Thibault is offended and angrily yells at Fleur, "how could you be so ungrateful? I prepared that tax return for you free of charge!". Fleur was upset by Thibault's comment and quickly left his office. However, on her way out of the office, she slipped on the footpath and sustained a serious back injury. It was a particularly rainy and gloomy day, and Fleur acknowledges that she was running to get away from Thibault's outburst, but also to escape the rain. Fleur has spent $14,000 on medical bills and has been forced to close her patisserie for 4 weeks due to her injuries. Fleur has now come to you for urgent advice. Required: Using case law, advise Fleur whether she would be successful in any claims against Thibault, and if so, what remedies might be available to her?
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