Alfaro & Anorv Nash & Ors

The applicants, Alfaro and another, sought leave to appeal from a judgment of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia concerning a dispute with the respondents, Nash and others. The underlying matter involved allegations of misleading and deceptive conduct in contravention of the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth) and the *Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001* (Cth).

The primary legal issue before Gummow J was whether the applicants had established a sufficient arguable case to warrant the grant of special leave to appeal to the High Court. This required consideration of whether the Full Court's decision contained an error of law or whether the appeal raised a question of general public importance.

Gummow J noted that the applicants' submissions did not demonstrate that the Full Court had erred in its application of established legal principles regarding misleading and deceptive conduct or the assessment of damages. His Honour found that the applicants had not satisfied the stringent criteria for granting special leave to appeal, which requires more than merely demonstrating that the Full Court's decision was wrong. The applicants failed to show that the appeal raised a question of law that ought to be reviewed by the High Court.

Consequently, Gummow J dismissed the application for special leave to appeal.