Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Snowdale Holdings Pty Ltd (No 2)

In the case of Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Snowdale Holdings Pty Ltd (No 2), the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) brought proceedings against Snowdale Holdings Pty Ltd, the owner of the brand "Eggs by Ellah", for misleading consumers about the nature of the eggs it sold. Snowdale was alleged to have represented that the eggs it sold were "free range" when in fact they were not, thereby misleading consumers who paid a premium price for what they believed were free range eggs. The court had to decide on several legal issues, including the appropriate declarations, injunctions, and penalties, as well as the appropriate form and content of corrective advertising. The court found that Snowdale had indeed contravened the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) by making misleading representations about the eggs.

The court considered that the declarations proposed by the ACCC were appropriate, given the contested nature of the trial and the findings that Snowdale had contravened the ACL. The injunction proposed by the parties, which aimed to prevent Snowdale from representing that its eggs were produced by hens that could move freely on an open range when that was not the case, was also deemed appropriate as it served the public interest by reinforcing the need for compliance with consumer laws. The proposed corrective advertising, which required Snowdale to publish notices on its website and in The West Australian newspaper, was considered necessary to rectify the misleading representations made by Snowdale.

The court also addressed the issue of the pecuniary penalty, which was revised to $750,000, to be paid in monthly instalments. The court found that this penalty was appropriate considering the loss to consumers, the benefit to Snowdale, and the need for deterrence. The court noted that the revised penalty took into account the contravening conduct and the importance of setting a precedent to deter future breaches. Finally, the court ordered Snowdale to establish and maintain a Consumer Law Compliance Program to ensure ongoing compliance with the ACL.