Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Meriton Property Services Pty Ltd [2017] FCA 1305

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Meriton Property Services Pty Ltd [2017] FCA 1305 File number: VID 1360 of 2016

Judge: MOSHINSKY J

Date of judgment: 10 November 2017

Catchwords: CONSUMER LAW – misleading or deceptive conduct – conduct liable to mislead the public as to the nature, characteristics or suitability for their purpose of services – where respondent carried on serviced apartment business – where respondent's properties listed on the TripAdvisor website – where respondent participated in system called Review Express to solicit reviews from guests who had stayed at properties – where respondent masked email addresses of guests who had complained – where respondent withheld email addresses of guests where there had been a major service disruption – whether respondent's conduct had effect of reducing the number of negative reviews – whether respondent's conduct likely to mislead or deceive – whether respondent's conduct liable to mislead the public as to the nature, characteristics or suitability for purpose of accommodation services EVIDENCE – hearsay – business records – where respondent subscribed to online service that collected and analysed guest reviews from the internet – where respondent accessed the service and prepared reports containing such data – whether representations in reports covered by business records exception to hearsay rule

Legislation: Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), s 139B, Sch 2, Australian Consumer Law, ss 18, 29, 33, 34, 155, 156, 224, 232, 246 Evidence Act 1995 (Cth), ss 59, 69, 135 Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth), s 21 Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth), ss 52, 55, 55A