Gregory v Rangitikei District Council - [1995] 2 NZLR 208

Contract — Sale by tender — "Highest or any tender not necessarily accepted" — No tender accepted — Sale negotiated privately — Party submitting highest tender alleged obligation to sell to him — Whether there was a contractual undertaking by the party inviting the tender to enter into a contract with the highest tenderer.

Contract — Sale by tender — "Highest or any tender not necessarily accepted" — No tender accepted — Sale negotiated privately — Whether a term of the contract that the party inviting the tenders undertook to sell by tender and not otherwise — Whether contract contained an obligation to consider the plaintiff's tender — Whether such a term was breached.

Local government — Powers — Sale of land — Procedure — Public notice given of intention to sell land by tender — Subsequent sale by private treaty — Whether public notice sufficient to give notice of intention to sell by means other than tender — Whether statute confers a right to sue for damages on an unsuccessful intending purchaser — Local Government Act 1974, s 230.

Negligence — Duty of care — Novel situation — Whether duty of care owed by council to tenderer to comply with the statutory procedures, consider the plaintiff's tender and to refrain from deceptive or deliberate conduct in selling land by private treaty — Factors to be considered in determining duty — Economic loss — Loss of a chance.

Commercial law — Trade practices — Fair Trading Act — "Misleading and deceptive conduct" — Sale by tender did not proceed — Unsuccessful tenderer sought information as to council's intentions with regard to the land — Plaintiff advised that "at present time" the council had decided to retain the property but may decide to sell in the future — At that time the council was in negotiations to sell the property to another person — Whether non-disclosure by the council to the plaintiff of the extent of the negotiations being undertaken with a third party in the face of requests for information by the plaintiff constituted "misleading or deceptive conduct" — Fair Trading Act 1986, s 9.

Administrative law — Judicial review — Statutory power of decision — Whether sale of land amounted to the exercise of a statutory power of decision — Whether damages or declaration available.