Truth About Motorways Pty Ltd v Macquarie Infrastructure Investment Management Ltd

Truth About Motorways Pty Ltd brought proceedings against Macquarie Infrastructure Investment Management Ltd, seeking relief in relation to alleged misleading or deceptive conduct under the Australian Consumer Law. The case was heard in the Federal Court of Australia. The dispute centred on the applicant's claims that the respondent had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct by providing false information in relation to a proposed toll road project. The applicant alleged that this conduct had induced it to make certain investments.

The central legal issues the court needed to address were whether the applicant's claims were within the jurisdiction of the court and whether the statements made by the respondent were of a kind that could give rise to liability under the Australian Consumer Law. Specifically, the court had to determine whether the statements were misleading or deceptive and whether they related to a commercial transaction or arrangement.

The court found that the applicant's claims were justiciable and fell within the court's jurisdiction. However, it struck out certain paragraphs of the statement of claim as they did not comply with the requirements of the law. The court held that while the applicant's claims were within the court's jurisdiction, the specific allegations in the statement of claim needed to be more precisely articulated to comply with the legal standards. The court granted the applicant leave to re-plead and specified the timeline for filing the amended statement of claim and further directions for the proceedings. Additionally, the court ordered that the applicant pay the respondent's costs associated with the motion.