Harm v Sharad Chandra Nigam Trading As S C Nigam & Co

The High Court of Australia heard an appeal concerning a dispute between Harm and Sharad Chandra Nigam, trading as S C Nigam & Co. The core of the disagreement involved allegations of misleading and deceptive conduct under the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth) (now the *Competition and Consumer Act 2010* (Cth)). Harm alleged that Nigam had made representations that were false and likely to mislead consumers regarding the nature and quality of goods sold.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the conduct of Nigam constituted misleading or deceptive conduct within the meaning of section 52 of the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth). This required the court to consider the nature of the representations made, the likely impact of those representations on consumers, and whether those representations were, in fact, misleading or deceptive in the circumstances.

The High Court, in its judgment, affirmed the principles governing the assessment of misleading or deceptive conduct. The court reiterated that the test is objective, focusing on whether the conduct, viewed as a whole, was capable of misleading or deceiving a not insignificant section of the relevant class of consumers. The court considered the specific representations made by Nigam and the context in which they were communicated to determine if they possessed the character of misleading or deceptive conduct.