Nextra Australia Pty Limited v Fletcher

The case of Nextra Australia Pty Limited v Fletcher involved a dispute between a franchisor of newsagent franchises and a director and co-owner of a rival franchise group. The franchisor sought an injunction and other orders against the director for publishing an online blog article critical of a promotional flyer published by the franchisor. The dispute was heard in the Federal Court of Australia. The central legal issues were whether the blog article constituted conduct in trade or commerce, whether the promotional flyer was misleading or deceptive, and whether the blog article contained imputations that were misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive.

The court found that the blog article did constitute conduct in trade or commerce as it was published on a platform that was used for matters affecting the newsagency industry. The court also found that the promotional flyer was misleading or deceptive, as it contained out-of-date testimonials, coupled with a claim that many stores were switching, without specifying that some had switched to a cheaper model rather than the premium franchise. The court further found that the blog article made imputations that were misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive, as it implied that the promotional flyer was part of a "Nasty" advertising campaign.

In conclusion, the court found that the director had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law. The court ordered that the blog article be removed forthwith from the blog and that the director be restrained from publishing the article in any other form. The court also noted that it would hear submissions from the parties as to a form of final orders, and an appropriate way forward in respect of costs.