ALDI Foods Pty Limited as General Partner of ALDI Stores (a Ltd Partnership) v Transport Workers' Union of Australia [2020] FCA 269

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

ALDI Foods Pty Limited as General Partner of ALDI Stores (a Ltd Partnership) v Transport Workers' Union of Australia [2020] FCA 269 File number: NSD 1441 of 2017

Judge: FLICK J

Date of judgment: 6 March 2020

Catchwords: COMPETITION LAW – secondary boycotts – misleading and deceptive conduct COMPETITION LAW – whether a union is a trading corporation – whether statements made by union made in trade or commerce – part of industrial campaign – part of conduct engaged in to inform the public INDUSTRIAL LAW – union protests – freedom of speech – whether statement made in trade or commerce TORT – injurious falsehood – no malice – no loss or damage – no relief

Legislation: Constitution s 51 Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) ss 4, 6, 45D, 131, Sch 2 (Australian Consumer Law) ss 18, 31 Fair Work (Registered Organisations) Act 2009 (Cth) Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) ss 52, 53

Cases cited: Aldi Foods Pty Ltd as general partner of Aldi Stores (A Ltd Partnership) v Transport Workers Union of Australia [2017] FCA 1004 AMI Australia Holdings Pty Ltd v Fairfax Media Publications Pty Ltd [2010] NSWSC 1395 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Homeopathy Plus! Australia Pty Ltd [2014] FCA 1412, (2014) 146 ALD 278 Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Jutsen (No 3) [2011] FCA 1352, (2011) 206 FCR 264 Australian Education Union v Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology [2018] FCA 1985 Capilano Honey Limited v Mulvany [2018] VSC 672 Concrete Constructions (NSW) Pty Ltd v Nelson (1990) 169 CLR 594 Dare v Pulham (1982) 148 CLR 658 Domain Names Australia Pty Ltd v .au Domain Administration Ltd [2004] FCAFC 247, (2004) 139 FCR 215 Ferguson v State of South Australia [2018] SASC 90 Giles v Jeffrey [2019] VSC 562 Hornsby Building Information Centre Pty Ltd v Sydney Building Information Centre Ltd (1978) 140 CLR 216 Interlego AG v Croner Trading Pty Ltd (1992) 39 FCR 348 Madden v Seafolly Pty Ltd (No 2) [2014] FCAFC 49 Mark Foys Pty Ltd v TVSN (Pacific) Ltd [2000] FCA 1626, (2000) 104 FCR 61 Murdoch University v Gooding [2018] WASC 372 Murphy v Victoria [2014] VSCA 238, (2014) 289 FLR 337 National Roads and Motorists' Association Limited v Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union [2019] FCA 1491 Neville Mahon v Mach 1 Financial Services Pty Ltd [2012] NSWSC 651, (2012) 96 IPR 547 Palmer Bruyn & Parker Pty Limited v Parsons [2001] HCA 69, (2001) 208 CLR 388 Parkdale Custom Built Furniture Pty Ltd v Puxu Pty Ltd (1982) 149 CLR 191 R v The Judges of the Federal Court of Australia; Ex parte Western Australian National Football League (1979) 143 CLR 190 Roo Roofing Pty Ltd v Commonwealth of Australia [2019] VSC 331 Schlaepfer v ASIC [2019] NSWSC 1644 Seafolly Pty Ltd v Madden [2020] FCA 1346 Shop Distributive & Allied Employees Association v ALDI Foods Pty Ltd [2016] FCAFC 161, (2016) 245 FCR 155 Swimsure (Laboratories) Pty Ltd v McDonald [1979] 2 NSWLR 796 Thomson v STX Pan Ocean Co Ltd [2012] FCAFC 15 Village Building Co Ltd v Canberra International Airport Pty Ltd [2004] FCA 133, (2004) 134 FCR 422 Westpac Banking Corporation v Wittenberg [2016] FCAFC 33, (2016) 2342 FCR 505 Wyzenbeek v Australasian Marine Imports Pty Ltd [2017] FCA 1460 Zaghloul v Woodside Energy Ltd (No 7) [2019] FCA 818 JD Heydon, Economic Torts (2nd ed., Sweet & Maxwell 1978) RP Balking, JLR Davis, Law of Torts (5th ed., LexisNexis 2013)