Moray and Agnew v Haggis

Moray and Agnew (the plaintiffs) brought proceedings against Haggis (the defendant) in the County Court of Victoria. 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 plaintiffs claimed they suffered loss and damage as a result of representations made by the defendant concerning the financial performance of a business.

The central legal issue before Judge Driver was whether the representations made by the defendant regarding the business's profitability were misleading or deceptive. Specifically, the court had to determine if the defendant's statements, viewed objectively, were likely to mislead or deceive a reasonable person in the position of the plaintiffs, thereby causing them to enter into the transaction.

Judge Driver found that the defendant's representations were indeed misleading and deceptive. The court reasoned that the defendant had failed to disclose crucial information and had presented a picture of the business's financial health that was not supported by the available evidence. The principles applied centred on the objective test for misleading or deceptive conduct, which requires considering whether the conduct, viewed as a whole, has the capacity to mislead or deceive, irrespective of the defendant's intention. The court emphasised that silence or the omission of material facts can constitute misleading conduct.

The court ordered that the defendant pay damages to the plaintiffs in an amount to be assessed.