Mokta v Metro Meat International Ltd

Mokta (the applicant) brought proceedings against Metro Meat International Ltd (the respondent) in the Federal Court of Australia. The dispute concerned the respondent's alleged contravention of s 52 of the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth) (now s 18 of the *Australian Consumer Law*). The applicant alleged that the respondent engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by representing that it would pay the applicant for certain services rendered, when it had no intention of doing so.

The primary legal issue before the Full Federal Court was whether the respondent's conduct in representing that it would pay the applicant for services rendered, when it allegedly had no intention of doing so, constituted misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of s 52 of the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth). This required the court to consider the nature of a representation as to future conduct and the circumstances under which such a representation can be found to be misleading or deceptive.

The Court held that a representation as to future conduct, such as a promise to pay for services, is misleading or deceptive if the maker of the representation does not have reasonable grounds for making it. The court applied the principle that a statement about the future, if made without reasonable grounds, is a misrepresentation of an existing fact, namely the fact that the speaker has reasonable grounds for making the statement. In this instance, the court found that the respondent had not demonstrated that it had reasonable grounds for representing that it would pay the applicant for the services. Therefore, the representations were misleading or deceptive.