The impact of section 52 of the Trade Practices Act on land transactions and the conduct of those involved in these transactions has always been evident. To what extent do real estate agents and their developer clients unwittingly engage in misleading or deceptive conduct when they distribute sales brochures containing untrue or misleading statements prepared by third parties? To what extent can developers and agents escape liability in that scenario by relying on a clause which seeks to disclaim personal knowledge of, or responsibility for, the information provided by the third party? These issues were examined in the recent decision of the High Court in Butcher v Lachlan Elder Realty Pty Ltd [2004] HCA 60.

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