L'Oreal Australia Pty Ltd v BrandPoint Pty Ltd [2015] FCA 978

L'Oreal Australia Pty Ltd v BrandPoint Pty Ltd [2015] FCA 978

The court held that L'Oréal Australia satisfied r 7.23(1)(a)-(c) in relation to the BrandPoint email representations, including a reasonable belief that it may have the right to relief for misleading or deceptive conduct or false representations under the Australian Consumer Law, that reasonable inquiries were made, that relevant documents were in BrandPoint's control, and that preliminary discovery should be ordered; however, L'Oréal Australia's application in relation to the BrandPoint website representations was speculative and rejected.

Parties
Prospective Applicant: L'Oréal Australia Pty Ltd; Prospective Respondent: BrandPoint Pty Ltd
Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
04 September 2015
Procedural Posture
Application for Preliminary Discovery / Judgment and Orders on Preliminary Discovery Application
Outcome
application for preliminary discovery granted in part
Legal Topics
Preliminary Discovery, Misleading or Deceptive Conduct, False Representations, Federal Court Rules R 7.23, Australian Consumer Law Ss 18, 29
Practice and Procedure Consumer Law Preliminary Discovery Misleading or Deceptive Conduct False Representations Federal Court Rules R 7.23 Australian Consumer Law Ss 18, 29

Case Brief

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Parties

L'Oréal Australia Pty Ltd

Prospective Applicant

BrandPoint Pty Ltd

Prospective Respondent

Procedural Posture

Application for Preliminary Discovery / Judgment and Orders on Preliminary Discovery Application

Legal Issues

  1. 1 whether L'Oréal Australia may have the right to obtain relief for alleged misleading or deceptive conduct or false representations under ss 18 and 29 of the Australian Consumer Law
  2. 2 whether reasonable inquiries were made by L'Oréal Australia
  3. 3 whether documents relevant to the right to relief are in the control of BrandPoint

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that L'Oréal Australia satisfied r 7.23(1)(a)-(c) in relation to the BrandPoint email representations, including a reasonable belief that it may have the right to relief for misleading or deceptive conduct or false representations under the Australian Consumer Law, that reasonable inquiries were made, that relevant documents were in BrandPoint's control, and that preliminary discovery should be ordered; however, L'Oréal Australia's application in relation to the BrandPoint website representations was speculative and rejected.

Court Disposition

application for preliminary discovery granted in part

Orders

  • By 4.00 pm on 30 September 2015, BrandPoint to give discovery to L'Oréal Australia of documents recording or evidencing methods, process, assumptions and results of any trials, testing or analysis for claims made in the impugned representations; all advertising and promotional material regarding PuraSonic containing...
  • Discovery is limited to material disclosed to third parties in Australia