McGrath Newtown faces landmark case over undisclosed death in Geelong home
Geelong real estate agency faces “test case” court challenge over $825,000 property sale after allegedly failing to disclose previous death to emergency worker buyers.
The suicide of a woman in a Geelong home is the catalyst for a landmark legal claim after a couple who purchased the property sold it at a loss soon after learning of the incident.
The couple – one a police detective, the other a paramedic – paid $825,000 for the Jedda St property in Bell Post Hill in a January sale overseen by McGrath Newtown.
They moved out less than a week after settlement and two days after a neighbour informed them of the suicide that occurred more than four years prior.
The property was offloaded by White House Estate Agents on behalf of the couple in June for $785,000.
Central to the claim, lodged in Melbourne’s County Court late last month, is that McGrath allegedly knew of the suicide but failed to disclose it after being specifically asked during a December 2024 inspection whether “anyone had recently died at the property”.
Due to their occupations, the couple – who asked not to be named due to a safety issue involving the detective – did not want to live in a property associated with a recent death.
“To discover a violent death had occurred in the house made us feel physically ill,” they said in a statement.
“This home was supposed to be our sanctuary – instead, it’s ended up being our worst nightmare. It has been devastating.”
McGrath Newtown director David Cortous, who is not the agent named in the documents, said he could not comment while the matter was subject to litigation.
Gordon Legal, a no-win, no-fee firm founded by Peter Gordon in 2009, is representing the couple.
Laws introduced in March 2020 made it incumbent on selling agents to not knowingly conceal from a prospective buyer any material facts about a property.
Under the new laws, the agent must also answer all questions from prospective buyers about material facts.
The claim alleges McGrath knew of the woman’s death because of one of its agent’s association with the vendor – the deceased’s husband – and his family.
Additionally, the parties allegedly attended the same community events as members of the local Croatian community and had a longstanding involvement in the North Geelong Warriors Football Club.
Gordon Legal’s James Naughton described the claim as an important test case.
“We believe that our clients’ situation is precisely what the new laws were created to prevent,” he said.
“Our clients’ ability to make an informed decision about whether this was the right house for them was taken away from them.
“We see this as a really important case that may also help thousands of other Victorians who could find themselves in a similar position in the future, where real estate agents or vendors don’t tell them what went on in their new house before they bought it.”
The couple is seeking compensation from McGrath for costs that include stamp duty and title registration, as well as removalist, conveyancing and other registration fees.
Compensation is also sought for the cost of renting a substitute house and the loss incurred in the property sale.
More Coverage
Originally published as McGrath Newtown faces landmark case over undisclosed death in Geelong home
