Kuzmanovski v New South Wales Lotteries Corporation [2010] FCA 876

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Kuzmanovski v New South Wales Lotteries Corporation [2010] FCA 876 Citation: Kuzmanovski v New South Wales Lotteries Corporation [2010] FCA 876

Parties: ELIZABETH KUZMANOVSKI and BALE KUZMANOVSKI v NEW SOUTH WALES LOTTERIES CORPORATION

File number: NSD 683 of 2009

Judge: RARES J

Date of judgment: 17 August 2010

Catchwords: CONTRACTS – offer and acceptance – voluntary assignment of benefit of contract – public lottery – lottery ticket purchased as gift – statutory licensee's offer to pay person presenting winning ticket – acceptance by presentation – new contract between person presenting ticket and statutory licensee conducting lottery – voluntary assignment of right to be paid prize made by gift of ticket CONTRACTS – public lottery – lottery ticket governed by Public Lotteries Act 1996 (NSW) and rules made under Act – play instructions on ticket identify terms on which prize payable – whether Act imposed additional conditions to be satisfied before prize payable CONTRACTS – interpretation – use of dictionaries to construe words used in contract – whether any one dictionary authoritative STATUTORY INTERPRETATION – purposive construction – consumer contract – whether statutory licensee entitled to exercise power under s 50 of Public Lotteries Act 1996 (NSW) to use verification code or test inconsistent with play instructions on ticket to be satisfied before prize payable – whether statutory provision construed to override or be consistent with express terms of contract in lottery ticket TRADE PRACTICES – misleading and deceptive conduct – whether statutory licensee engaged in conduct in contravention of ss 51A, 52 and 53 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) in the creation for sale and sale of lottery ticket – readable portions of ticket did not reveal winning status – lottery ticket play conditions made representations of basis ticket would have winning status different from unreadable code or test used by statutory licensee Held: applicants entitled to recover prize in contract