Brisbane TV Ltd & Ors v Wells

Brisbane TV Ltd and others (the appellants) appealed to the High Court of Australia against a decision of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia. The dispute concerned the interpretation and application of section 82(1) of the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth) (now section 18 of the *Australian Consumer Law*). The respondent, Mr Wells, had brought proceedings alleging that the appellants had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of section 52 of the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth).

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the respondent, Mr Wells, had established a sufficient causal connection between the alleged misleading or deceptive conduct of the appellants and the loss or damage he claimed to have suffered. Specifically, the court had to determine the proper test for causation under section 82(1) of the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth), which requires a plaintiff to prove that they have suffered loss or damage "by conduct of another person".

The High Court, in a joint judgment, affirmed that the question of causation under section 82(1) is a question of fact to be determined by applying the ordinary principles of common law causation. This involves considering both the "but for" test and the question of whether the loss was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the conduct. The court held that the respondent had failed to establish that his loss was caused by the appellants' conduct, as opposed to other factors that were operative at the time.

The appeal was allowed, and the orders of the Full Court of the Federal Court were set aside. The High Court ordered that the respondent's claim be dismissed.