A buyer, Carmelo Caltabiano, claimed to have purchased a prestigious four-floor Soul penthouse back in 2006 because the selling agent had gotten its developer $3 million more for an inferior property.
Carmelo Caltabiano met with Justin Daniels in his sales office. That is when Daniels informed Caltabiano about the Soul penthouse. Caltabiano cautioned Daniels that his offer would be conditional based on the developer, Juniper’s satisfaction of the asking price at a reasonable value.
Two days later, Daniels informed Caltabiano that a more inferior penthouse at Jade had gotten sold for $20 million. Daniels enticed Caltabiano further by telling him that a Q1 apartment nearby had gotten sold for $7.8 million in 2002.
Surprisingly, Caltabiano, an entrepreneur, with a $100 million business, did not do his research. He accepted Daniels’ claims and signed the offer with a contract due for July.
A settlement date got set for August of 2012, but Caltabiano failed to make payment. Another settlement date got arranged for March of 2014, but Juniper, who was in receivership, forfeited the $1.68 million deposit. The final demand went ignored.
The same penthouse got re-sold in April of 2015 for only $7 million. Both parties alleged that the deal should have gotten terminated due to misconduct.
The case went to the Supreme Court of Queensland. Justice David Jackson questioned whether Daniels had made such claims, or whether Caltabiano had relied on those claims. The seller took Caltabiano to court to recoup a re-sale loss of $8.817 million.
The story regarding the Jade Penthouse deal was a complete fabrication. The sale went through in 2012 for $7 million and not $20 million. Additionally, the square footage (951 m²) of the Q1 penthouse was larger than that of the Soul penthouse.
Daniels denied any misrepresentation of the Soul Penthouse. The Q1 misinformation was sufficient evidence to put holes in the buyer’s case.
While Daniels was under oath, Daniels admitted that he thought that the Jade Penthouse had gotten sold for $20 million and that he had informed the purchaser that the going rate for the property had gotten offered at $20 million. Moreover, Daniels had told Caltabiano of the smaller size and the blocked view.
Justice Jackson was not satisfied with the claim regarding Daniels’ intent to oversell the penthouse. The judge decided to refer to notes between Caltabiano’s and Daniels’ attorneys instead. Justice Jackson stated that Daniels could not have told Caltabiano that the Jade Penthouse had gotten sold. Instead, Daniels must have said that it was on the market for the disclosed amount rather than the sale of property that had not gotten sold.
Furthermore, Justice Jackson was shocked that the question of misrepresentation only came about when a counterclaim got filed in 2014. Why had it taken Caltabiano that long to file such a claim?
Caltabiano’s case got weakened due to an email from him and his attorney in 2012. The content of the email stated that the intent was to have a smoking gun that would help reduce the price of the seller’s offer.
Justice Jackson questioned why Caltabiano had not gotten advice before accepting a $16.85 million deal if the claims of Daniels’ proposal were that outrageous. It is inconceivable that Caltabiano would rely only on Daniels’ claim with such a deal on the table.
The seller won the case for $12.132 million plus cost. This amount is twice that of the value of the property in 2015. Caltabiano got nothing out of the deal.