Peter Luscombe Ward v Youfa Xiang

The appeal concerned alleged misleading or deceptive conduct under the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth) (now the *Competition and Consumer Act 2010* (Cth)). Peter Luscombe Ward (the appellant) appealed from a decision of a primary judge who had found that the appellant had made representations about the operations of a business to Youfa Xiang (the respondent), a potential investor, and that these representations were relied upon by the respondent. The core of the dispute was whether the appellant had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct.

The court was required to determine whether the representations made by the appellant, which were communicated through a third party, constituted misleading or deceptive conduct. Furthermore, the court had to consider whether the respondent had, in fact, relied upon these representations when making an investment decision.

The court upheld the primary judge's findings. It reasoned that representations made through an intermediary could still constitute misleading or deceptive conduct if those representations were intended to be conveyed to and acted upon by the recipient. The court found that the appellant's misrepresentations regarding the business operations were indeed conveyed to the respondent and that the respondent had relied on these misrepresentations. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed with costs.