Mario Vesely and Vajda Australia Pty Ltd vVajda Group S.r.o.

In the matter of *Mario Vesely and Vajda Australia Pty Ltd v Vajda Group S.r.o.*, the Supreme Court of Victoria, presided over by Justice Nicole Worth, considered a dispute concerning alleged breaches of contract and misleading and deceptive conduct. The applicants, Mario Vesely and Vajda Australia Pty Ltd, sought to restrain the respondent, Vajda Group S.r.o., from continuing certain conduct and to recover damages.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether the respondent had breached express or implied terms of a joint venture agreement, and whether its conduct in relation to the sale of certain assets constituted misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of Australian consumer law. The Court was required to interpret the scope of the joint venture agreement and assess the nature of the representations made by the respondent.

Justice Worth's reasoning focused on the interpretation of the joint venture agreement, particularly clauses relating to asset sales and the parties' respective obligations. The Court applied principles of contractual interpretation, considering the plain meaning of the words used and the surrounding circumstances. Regarding the misleading and deceptive conduct claim, the Court assessed whether the respondent's conduct was likely to mislead or deceive a reasonable consumer in the circumstances, applying established legal tests for such claims.

The Court ultimately found in favour of the applicants on certain aspects of their claim, ordering that the respondent be restrained from continuing the impugned conduct and awarding damages.