Australian Specialised Meat Products Pty Ltd v Coles

Australian Specialised Meat Products Pty Ltd (the applicant) sought leave to appeal to the New South Wales Court of Appeal against a decision of the Commercial Division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the applicant's claim for damages against Coles (the respondent) for alleged breaches of contract and misleading or deceptive conduct in relation to the supply of meat products.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge erred in finding that there was no breach of contract by Coles and no contravention of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) (the Act) in relation to the supply of meat products. Specifically, the court considered whether Coles had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by representing that the meat supplied was of a particular quality or standard when it was not, and whether this conduct caused loss to the applicant.

The Court of Appeal, in dismissing the application for leave to appeal, found that the primary judge had correctly assessed the evidence. The court held that the applicant had failed to establish that Coles had made any representations that were misleading or deceptive, or that any such representations had caused the applicant loss. The court affirmed the principles that a party alleging misleading or deceptive conduct must prove the representation, its misleading or deceptive nature, and the causal link to their loss.

Leave to appeal was refused.