Steele v Insurance Aust Ltd & Anor

The parties to this proceeding were the appellant, Steele, and the respondents, Insurance Australia Limited and another party. The dispute concerned an appeal from a decision of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The High Court of Australia was the court required to determine the appeal.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the appellant had been induced to enter into a settlement agreement by misleading or deceptive conduct, in contravention of section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2 to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)). This involved determining whether the respondents had made representations that were misleading or deceptive, and whether these representations had caused the appellant to enter into the settlement.

The High Court considered the nature of the representations made by the respondents and the context in which they were made. It applied principles relating to misleading or deceptive conduct, focusing on whether the representations, viewed objectively, were likely to mislead or deceive a reasonable person in the position of the appellant. The court examined the evidence to ascertain whether the appellant had relied on these representations when agreeing to the settlement.

The High Court dismissed the appeal, finding that the conduct of the respondents did not amount to misleading or deceptive conduct in contravention of section 18 of the Australian Consumer Law. Consequently, the settlement agreement was upheld.