Ransley, D.A. v Coles Myer Ltd

...

t 2 D ) Hhere It

appea r s t o

the Mln ie t e r

that

croods

a p a r t l c u l a r k i n d

wiLL

or may

cause

l n j u r y

t o persons us ing

the goods

or t o any o the r

p r s n n s ,

he may, hy n a t i c e

under hxe hand plJbl1shed m

the

Gaze t t e ,

declare

t h e

croods

to be unsafe qoods.

12E1 A

n o t i c e

under

sub- sec t lon

(2D) has

e i f ec t unt11

the expiration of L8 months a f t e r

the

d a t e of publication

of t h ~

notlre

i n the

G a z e t t e

u n l e s s ~t is revoked be€ore t h e exuiratlon or-	that
period. "

Each

b o t t l e

c o n t a i n e d

t.3hLet.s

whJrh

c o n t a i n 4

ulucomannan

and

t h l l : ;

the

content::

e d r h bmtt La

~compr~zed

alucomannan

I n t a b l e t

form.

'1%

t w o b o k t l e s

w ~ r e

amonF

uroup

s1x bot t les

c o n t a l n l n q :ilm'LIar

t a b l e t s .

Each b o t t l e

was

p r l c c d at $ 3 h e ? n q a d1scountx.d

nrice havlnq been

reduced

from a prlce of

S 10.9 t , t o a p r i c e of- $7 and then to $ 3 .

I n

the

pr-sent.

c a s e ,

p u r s u a n t

0 . 4 9

r . 5 of

t h r

R u l e s of

Court. the

proserutor

and

the

defendant.

have

f i Led

d e t a l l e d a f f i d a v i t

materla1

t o assist

the

Cour t

t o

detrrmine

t h e

a p p r o p r i a t e

p e n a l t y

t o bp

Imposed

C o l e s Myer

Limlted.

Glucomannan

1s a

type

s t a rch o r ca rbohydra t e hav lng

v e r y

larqe

motecule

whirh

readi ly

absorbs

l lquids

and

Pxpands

q u l r k l y .

When swaJ lowed.

the glucomannm

absorbs

the

1iquxds

i n t h e

stomach. expands

and

c r e a t e s 8

f ee lxnq of

f u l l

stomarh

wi thou t

hav in?

ea tm

tood .

It. 1 s used a s an a i d

"hp

maln a t f l d a v l t , f z l e d by the defendant was

sworn

K e i t h

I r v i n e .

the s e c r e t a r y ot

Colps Mger

L i m i t m i .

h Ma:J

1985. t h e deiendant, heLd

about

3,000 b o t t l e s of

ulucomannan

t a b l e t s

e l t h e r

In s t o c k or nn dlziplay shelves.

A t that

time

it opera ted some

L,O55 stores i n

Australia and some 200

those stocked

qLucomannan

t a b l e t s .

Thp

defendant d l d

n o t

know of

t h e

d e c l a r a t i o n

p u b l l s h e d

t.he G a z e t t ? of l3

May

1985 but it. must

he presumed tm

have

k n o w l e d g e of it.

The

l e T a l

o f f i c e r

whose

d u t i e s

m c l r ~ d e

v i e w i n g

Government

Gaze t t e s , d2d

not

r e a l lse that.

the

d e i m d a n t S ~ l d

qlllcomannan

i n

L a b l e t

r orm.

the

dc=fend.mk

had

known

ot'

t h e

dec la ra t lon

t he

p rocedures

presrr lhed

i n t h e Product

Recall

Manual. w o u l d have

been

1m-plpmentpd.

Jn alL p r o h , > b 1 l i t v V

t h l z

would

have prewntpr l

the

ience

occurr

inq

JTnormre

the

d e c l a r a t t n n , Eurton

d t d

n n t

a c t i v a t e thr? rt-ra L1

procedures

htlt Instztul .c?d

procedures

for

the withdrawal

t r n m sa L P

ot- qLucomannan

tcrhlets and

t h e i r

ret,urn to the

nupplxers.

The memorandum m s t i t u t i n g

t h o s e

procedures was

dated L6

May 1985

a n d was

d ~ r e r t ~ d

t.o

a L 1

S t a t e s .

'Che

i n s t r r ~ c t i o n

w a s

headed

"Glncomannan

T a b l e t s " and

conta ined the

f o l l n w m g

instruct i .ons:-

"Whllst

some

states '

Hpalth

Dppartment

are

d i s a g r e e m g w i t h the

Federal. Body,

a r e t o r p t u r n

a l l s tocks .

a l l brands.

t .hese

weight

control

Items t n the varlorls suppliers.

This app1ie.s t o t a b l e t s only and is due t o the fac t .

t h a t b e c a u s ~ t,hey absorb m 0 1 s t u r e so nulck Ly t h a t

t h e r e

1 z a

chance

tha t

t hey may

s t i c k I n t h e t h r o a t

or somehody.

'Chls r ~ s k f a c t o r

does n o t

appJ7 t o

capsules

powders

and

t h e s e

are net. t o be

r e t u r n e d .

- 7 -

Ranme t n he Rpttlrned

Golden L 1 f c Groat

Shape ' h h l p t s

Golden

L 1 t c (;Lucomannsn

S p ~ r u l l n a

and Tlh

Natures Way ~:Iucomannan 500

Should :?our

s t a t e be

s t o c k ~ n a

=.ny

o t h a r GL~~rcimannan

T a b l e t s t h e z c	a	r	~	t n be	i n c l u d e d	I n	the	l n s t r u c t l n n
t o s t o r e s .

PlearjF! l n z t r u c t stores

to t-Pmo-w

t h e ahnve

-ctpms

irom ':ale

and in

t,h- c a : z r

or M-trnpnl i tan

a reas

return

l:n

pour

G.D.C.

b v t h e

7 t h Junp

o t h e r w ~ s e

c lams may not be

a1 towed.

Mith regard t o cnunt.ry

stores please oht.nIn t h e

q u a n t i t y of

s t o c k nn hand so that, we can

negotiate

w l t h t h e s u p p l i e r

t h e

method

r e t u r n i n g .

Pleasv

? o n t a c t

y o u r

l o c a l

r e p r e s e n t a t i v e

f o r

the

GoLden L i t c f N a t u r c s Way

(Nlrholas) items

and

they

w l l l a r r a n q e

t o

pick

up from

your

G.U.C.

when

s tocks

are

ava i l ab le

and

sugqes t

l a t e r

t han

28th June.

Tasmania.

thls

i n s t r u c t i o n was

d l r e c t e d

t o

Dean

Kane. then

t he

de fendan t ' s

buye r

g roce ry

and

food

p r o d u c t s i n

the

Taamanian supermarket divls3

on.

In MA-J ancl ,June l9H5, Mark Andarson was thc

Department ManaTer o f

the t o ] lF?1.?-Ies/cosmet1 c department

t h p d e t p n d a n t , ' ~ K

Mart

store

I n

the I?hs t lands Shoppng Ccnt re

at Romy

Park.

'I'hhnt

department: soLd vitnmln

t a b l e t s .

I n

June

L985. Anderson was

i n s t r u c t c d by Craham

Mazey,

the then

Area Manauer

a t that

store, t o remove

glucomannan

t a b l e t s

from

t h e

d l s p t a y

s h e l v e s

u n t l l

turther notlce.

Anderson

was

shown a w r l t t e n instruction t o do that.

He and Susan Cooper,

a sales assistant in that departmcnt.

scarchpd

the

dlsplay

s h e l v e s and

tound

s1x b o t t l e s

of GoLdcn

L l f e

glucomannan

- 8 -

On the

PvldmrF!

bpfore

Lhe

Cour t .

the

p rocedures

adopted at the

East , lands

K Mart

s t o r e w l t h r e spec t , to

t,her;e

slx

b o t t Les

creaked

damnernus

: ; ~ L u a t ' ~ o n .

'I 'h~s

arose 1 rom a

l a c k ot

knowledme o i the ev tdencr of t.he declar.3t on and

Lhp

non 1mplementatim of the procedures sprrlf~ed

i n t h e Product

R e m 1 L

Manual.

F u r t h e r ,

t h e r e

wa:;

t a l Lure

t h e

p a r t

the apprnpr3.ate n t t i c e r r

t,he

d e i e n d a n t

to t a k e

;~dequat,e

precau t ions t n prpvmt, t hose

bott les from helng ret-urned

the d1sp

lay

.She Lves.

Thrre then developed a

t o m h l s t o r y of

t l d y z n g up

n a t u r e I n which

of f tcer r

the

T rade

L'ractlres Commlssl.on

found

gluromennan

t a b l e t s

f i r s t a t

some Coles Myer

Llmlted

stores I n Tasmania, second

at a 4:olrs Mypr 1,Imltxvi s t o r e

a t

Newtown

and

t h i r d l v a t a

Colea

Myer

L t m i t m l

st.or?

a t

Melvi l Le, Western

A11strali.a~

aach oc~-r1sion. on

he inq

notifi erl , seni o r

manarremcnt,

took u r f f en t

and

comprehenni ve

a c t i o n t o p n s t l r e

t h a t f u r t h e r

sa la:;

did

not. occur .

l ! l

- II -

Befwaen Aunust

L Y H 5 ancl E'pbruary L 9 H 7 . l+tpr

W1 t d r

was t h e Manaqer a t the K Mart

s t o r e a t E a s t lands.

Betore

221

May 1931?b. he

did no t

know tha t there wcr?

any

qlrlcomannan

tablets

at;

that

s t o r e .

November

1985,

issued

i n s t r u c t i o n s

that,

711 t,amins

which

were

near1nF

the i r

exp i ry

d a t e should be

marked

clown

p r o g w s s l v e l y

a n d

sold.

The

s l x

bottLe.5

~ l r r n m a n n a n

appear t o have ;In PXFI ry clate nt

A p r l I

198b.

In Bnr1.I

h e decided

1.0

c l o s e down

the vitamin

s ~ ? c i , ~ r r n

e r l t l r p t y and t o

se1 L all

stock:;

v~t . ;~rnlns . HP doe5

not

know

how

t h e

!?ix b o t t t p s ot

alucomnnnc~n

tah!et::

m m e to

removed

trom the stock room t o t h e d x s p l < + y shelves.

m,ide

enaulries ot

the emptoypes who

wcrp ~ n v o l v c r l

i n

t h e

A p r ~ l

clparanre of vI tamln5 htlt none of t.hem remembers p l a r m q

an'?

thosp s1x hot tLes

on t h e

d l s p l a v

s h r

LvP~;.

After

kans tav

purchased the two hnt . t Les, hr

nave

onp to NI

l r le

W1 Ldc.

t h q n

searched

thr

d ~ s p l a y

s h e l v e s and

removed

t,he

o t h p r

four.

I l l 1

l n s t r u c t l o n s from h i s	srlperlor	o f t i c e r ,	he	des t roved thp	t xve
b o t t les.

- L / -

exp lana t lon has

been

y iven as t o how

the

o f f e n d l n g

b o t t l e s

came

t o bc on

t h e

d i s p l a y

s h e l v e s

i n

May

1986.

I n

t h e circumstances

would be

id l e t n

s p e c u l a t e

what

happened.

s a t 2 s f l e d

t h a t

i n

a l l p r o h a b l l i t y ,

i t

was done by an employee

mployed

on the shop floor at the K

Mart	s t o r e .

due dl l ic renre

t,o

enmare

t h a t a 1 1

the

d e c l a r e d aoods

were

removed from p o s s l h l e 5aie Crom a11 ot

i t , s s t o r e s .

When

1ts

a t t e n t l o n was

drawn

t o

t h e

fact It had

n o t succeedrd,

i n l t x a t e d

e x t m s 1 - m and

detailpd

prnrrdure?s to

prevent

i u t u r p

br fachcs ot

s.62 of t.hc

Trade P r a r t l res Art.

The f a c t

t h a t

f a l l e d

r e s u l t e d .

o p i n m n ,

from

f a l l u r e

personnt.1

at. the store

l e v e l .

- L ! -

'L'hr maulmum pena1t-J prr.:irrLhr4 hp S . :L, (it thr 'h-ad-y

Frac t t rms A r i ,

di.:;lTned

t n

r o v r r

t he

whole

ran??

01-

o r f e n r r s c r e a t e d by

brraches

01.

the

p r o v l s l o n s nf

P a r t

thr Act.

Many

t h o s e

o f f e n c e s

may

resu l t from

t h e

moral

t u r p i t u d e

and

i i l shnnes ty

t h e

o f t e n d m g

p e r s o n

where

that

person

has

engaqcd m

conduct f o r

hls own

b e n e f l t a t

t h e

expense of Innocent pcrsnns. Nothlng Ltke t h a t has o c c u r r d here. In attempt,lnq tr, prevent, Lhe sale of t h e gttlcornannan tab le t ,c . the defendant tal led t o e x e r c i s e d11e d l l i g r n c ~ and

so could noi. r r l y upnn il detencr based

on 7.

HS of the Act.

NcvcrthelFs,Z. i n many

recp+-rt,s

it wa.5 m the pozl t,ion ot

a n

Innocent per-son,

Wen

t h e

c l o r a t , i o n

order

was

made,

w ~ t h n u t

Itnowlrdcre

t,hat: order.

t h p d e t e n d d n t npended

t,lrnP

and resourrez

t,o rcmove

the t a h l e t s .

'Thai

was r7

mammoth

task.

T t . did

n o t surceed complete Lv.

'Thereat

t e r ,

expended

fu r the r

t lmo

and

rosourcps

t o rert7t:J

the

position.

Lt falled because of human error a t a ?unl.or	level	of
r e s p o n s l b l l l t y .

Counsel f o r t h e defendant submitted t h a t the

Court

should exercise ~ t s

d l s c r e t l o n under s.19B

t h e Crimps

Act

1 9 1 4 . a n d

r r f r a l n

from enterlng

a c o n v l c t l o n

agamst

the

dcfendant havmo reqord

t o t h e ex ten t t o which

the

o€tence IS

of a trivial n a t u r e o r

t o thr extent. to whlch the ot icnce was

commtttcd

u n d e r

~ x t a n u a L 1 n ~

c1 rcumst,ancec.

op in ion ,

ne1t:her

o f

t hose m;\tters

a p p l y he re .

' 1 % ~

o t fence 1 S

no t

t r i v l a I

and

t h e f nctr ;

t h i s p r o n e r u t ~ o n do not

constitute

e x t a n u a t m g

circumstances.

- 14 -

c e r t l f y

t h a t

t h l s

a n d

t h e

t h l r t e e n

(13)

p r e c e d i n g

p a g e s

a r e

t r u e

c o p y

t h e

Reasons

for

Judgment

here in

t h e

Honourable Mr.

J u s t i c e R . M .

Nor throp .

2 7 M a r c h &

[1987] FCA 133

27 Mar 1987