Connell, B & Ors v Nevada Financial Group Pty Ltd and Ors [1996] FCA 801

CATCHWORDS REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDINGS - whether it was open to the applicants to commence proceedings for relief under the Trade Practices Act arising out of representations by the respondents in relation to various distributorship agreements with the applicants and others as a representative proceeding under Part IVA the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) - whether the requirements of s 33C of that Act satisfied. REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDINGS - whether the claims of all group members give rise to a "substantial common issue of law or fact" as required by s 33C(1)(c) - having regard to the object of Part IVA to enable groups of people to obtain redress more cheaply and efficiently and to encourage efficient use of legal and court resources, necessity to consider nature of non-common issues as well as common issues - if litigation of non-common issues will have real impact on nature and extent of preparation for and conduct of trial, common issue will not be a "substantial common issue". PLEADING - representative proceedings - if alleged oral or written representations made in differing words and on different occasions, necessary to plead terms of alleged representations made to various class members precisely to show that the substance and effect of the representations made to each group member is the same. Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) - ss 33C, 33H, 33N, Part IVA Cases Considered Kinna v National Australia Bank Ltd (1988) ATPR 40-878 Marks v GIO Australia Holdings Ltd (1996) ATPR 41-471 Palser v Grinling [1948] AC 291 R v Monopolies & Mergers Commission; Ex parte South Yorkshire Transport Ltd [1993] 1 WLR 23 Tillmanns Butcheries Pty Ltd v Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union (1979) 42 FLR 331 Tropical Shine Holdings Pty Limited v Lake Gesture Pty Limited (1993) 45 FCR 457 Zhang v Minister for Immigration, Local Government and Ethnic Affairs (1993) 45 FCR 384 BRIAN CONNELL and LILLIAN CONNELL, STUART VAN ECK and MARLENE VAN ECK, ANDREW BOUCAUT and ANNE BOUCAUT v NEVADA FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD & ORS QG 135 OF 1995 DRUMMOND J BRISBANE 5 SEPTEMBER 1996