Libra Electronics Pty Ltd v Koh Electronics Trading

Libra Electronics Pty Ltd (the plaintiff) commenced proceedings against Koh Electronics Trading (the defendant) in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned allegations of misleading and deceptive conduct in contravention of section 52 of the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth) (now section 18 of the *Australian Consumer Law*). The plaintiff claimed that the defendant had made representations that its electronic goods were of a particular standard and quality, which were false and misleading, causing the plaintiff to suffer loss.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the defendant had engaged in conduct that was misleading or deceptive, or likely to mislead or deceive, in relation to the goods it supplied. This required the Court to consider the nature of the representations made by the defendant, the circumstances in which they were made, and the likely effect of those representations on consumers, including the plaintiff. The Court also had to determine whether the plaintiff had suffered loss or damage as a consequence of any such misleading or deceptive conduct.

Justice Forno found that the defendant had indeed engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct. His Honour reasoned that the representations made by the defendant regarding the quality and standard of its electronic goods were unsubstantiated and, in the circumstances, likely to mislead a significant proportion of the relevant class of consumers. The Court applied the established principles for assessing misleading or deceptive conduct, focusing on the objective effect of the conduct on the target audience. The plaintiff was successful in establishing its claim.