Saltmarsh v Westpac Banking Corporation

Saltmarsh (the applicant) brought proceedings against Westpac Banking Corporation (the respondent) in the Supreme Court of Queensland. The dispute concerned allegations of misleading and deceptive conduct under the *Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001* (Cth) and the *Competition and Consumer Act 2010* (Cth). The applicant sought to recover damages allegedly suffered as a result of the respondent's conduct.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the applicant had provided sufficient particulars to establish a causal link between the respondent's alleged misleading and deceptive conduct and the loss or damage claimed. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the pleadings adequately pleaded the facts necessary to demonstrate that the respondent's conduct caused the applicant's loss.

The Court found that the applicant's pleadings lacked the necessary particularity to establish causation. It was held that merely alleging misleading conduct and subsequent loss was insufficient; the applicant was required to plead the specific facts that demonstrated how the respondent's conduct operated to cause the loss. The Court applied the principle that pleadings must provide fair notice to the opposing party of the case they are required to meet, and in this instance, the applicant had failed to do so in relation to the crucial element of causation.

The Court ordered that the applicant's statement of claim be struck out unless amended within a specified period to provide adequate particulars of the causal link between the respondent's conduct and the applicant's alleged loss.