John L Pty Ltd v Attorney-General (NSW) [1987] HCA 42

High Court of Australia Mason C.J. Brennan, Deane, Dawson and Toohey JJ. John L Pty Ltd v Attorney-General (NSW) [1987] HCA 42

ORDER Appeal allowed with costs. Order that the order of the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal dated 2 May 1985 be set aside, and that in lieu thereof the appeal to that Court be dismissed with costs.

Cur. adv. vult.

The following written judgments were delivered:—

Sept. 17 Mason C.J., Deane and Dawson JJ.

On 27 January 1984 John Michael Clayton ("the informant") laid before a judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales an information alleging an offence by John L. Pty. Ltd. ("the appellant") against the Consumer Protection Act 1969 NSW. At the time, the informant was an officer of the New South Wales Department of Consumer Affairs. The information asserted that on 28 January 1983 the appellant "did commit an offence" against s. 32(1) of the Consumer Protection Act. That sub-section, which is in Pt III, is in these terms:

Any person who publishes or causes to be published any statement which—

(a) is intended or apparently intended to promote the supply or use of goods or services or the disposal of interests in land; and

(b) is to his knowledge false or misleading in any material particular,

is guilty of an offence against this Act.

The information alleged, in the terms of the sub-section, that the appellant had caused "to be published a statement apparently intended to promote the supply of goods, to wit motor vehicles, which statement was to [the appellant's] knowledge false or misleading in a material particular". It went on to identify the factual contents of the particular alleged offence as follows:

in that in an advertisement in the Daily Mirror on that day, it did cause to be published the following false or misleading statement:—