Plastec Australia Pty Ltd v Plumbing Solutions and Services Pty Ltd [2012] FCA 510

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Plastec Australia Pty Ltd v Plumbing Solutions and Services Pty Ltd [2012] FCA 510 Citation: Plastec Australia Pty Ltd v Plumbing Solutions Pty Ltd [2012] FCA 510

Parties: PLASTEC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD ACN 093 513 467 v PLUMBING SOLUTIONS AND SERVICES PTY LTD ACN 128 873 629, TONY GREGORY PURDON and RALPH T MARTIN

File number: QUD 272 of 2009

Judge: GREENWOOD J

Date of judgment: 18 May 2012

Catchwords: TRADE PRACTICES – consideration of whether a document distributed by means of a telecommunications facility and through the use of the postal service, contained representations of fact which were misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive consumers as to the entitlement of the applicant to sell plumbing fittings described and marked as compliant with a particular Australian Standard and an Australian Technical Specification – consideration of the extension provision, s 6(3) of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) as the applicable law at the material time – consideration of whether the material distributed by the third respondent containing the statements in suit, were statements made "in trade or commerce" – consideration of whether s 52 so far as that section purports to regulate conduct said to be misleading or deceptive in circumstances where the statements concern aspects of the legislative and regulatory environment governing the plumbing industry, engage the constitutional limitation or guarantee the subject of the decisions in Lange v Australian Broadcasting Corporation; Hogan v Hinch and Wotton v State of Queensland and related earlier authorities of the High Court (cited below) – consideration of whether, on the facts, the statements were representations or statements of opinion – consideration of whether the conduct of the third respondent in making the various statements was conduct in close association with the applicant's principal rival CONSUMER LAW – consideration of whether a document distributed by means of a telecommunications facility and through the use of the postal service, contained representations of fact which were misleading or deceptive or likely to mislead or deceive consumers as to the entitlement of the applicant to sell plumbing fittings described and marked as compliant with a particular Australian Standard and an Australian Technical Specification STATUTES – consideration of the application of the cooperative arrangements for the legislative and regulatory arrangements governing the plumbing industry in Australia and New Zealand, by reference to the legislative instruments adopted in Queensland as emblematic of each jurisdiction's legislation, including The Plumbing and Drainage Act 2002 (Qld); Standard Plumbing and Drainage Regulation 2003 (Qld); the provisions of the Plumbing Code of Australia 2004; and various Australian Standards and particularly Australian Technical Specification 5200.055:2008