Consumer Affairs Victoria is preparing to take legal action against Inkerman Road Nominees Pty Ltd (in liquidation) ACN 164 850 748 (formerly known as Belle Gibson Pty Ltd) and its sole director, Ms Annabelle Gibson, following an in-depth investigation into alleged contraventions of the Australian Consumer Law and Australian Consumer Law (Victoria).
The alleged contraventions relate to false claims by Ms Gibson and her company concerning her diagnosis with terminal brain cancer, her rejection of conventional cancer treatments in favour of natural remedies, and the donation of proceeds to various charities.
Consumer Affairs Victoria Director Simon Cohen has applied for leave to commence proceedings against Inkerman Road Nominees Pty Ltd (in liquidation) in the Federal Court of Australia. Leave is required because the company is in liquidation.
If leave is granted, Mr Cohen intends to commence proceedings against Inkerman Road Nominees and Ms Gibson.
Mr Cohen added he was pleased that Penguin Australia Pty Ltd, publishers of The Whole Pantry book, had willingly co-operated with a concurrent investigation that examined whether the company had also contravened the ACL (Vic).
Mr Cohen said Penguin had agreed to an enforceable undertaking acknowledging that it had not required Ms Gibson to substantiate her claims prior to the book’s publication.
Included in the terms of the enforceable undertaking is that Penguin will make a $30,000 donation to the Victorian Consumer Law Fund.
Penguin must also enhance its compliance, education and training program with a specific focus on ensuring all claims about medical conditions are substantiated, and that statements about natural therapies are accompanied by a prominent warning notice.
“This is an important step in ensuring that consumers receive only verified information and are not deceived, particularly where serious matters of health and medical treatment are concerned,” Mr Cohen said.Meanwhile in New Zealand the Commerce Commission has reached an interim agreement with TM Publisher, an overseas company that sent invoices for unsolicited services to New Zealand trade mark holders.
Under the interim court enforceable undertakings TM Publisher has agreed that anyone who paid the invoice from 6 April 2016 will be refunded directly by ANZ bank.
The Commission is still in negotiations with TM Publisher about payments it received before 6 April 2016. ...
TM Publisher’s bank account was frozen in March 2016. It contained over $200,000 in payments from New Zealand businesses.
The invoice relates to an overseas, web-based trade mark publication service. It is not connected to the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ). The invoice does not make clear that the recipient does not have to pay for the services.
In the UK there's been another appearance by Alan Blacker, whose claims were noted here. In BLacker (The Lord Harley) v The Law Society [2016] EWHC 947 (QB) the Court states
The Claimant has a variety of titles. His name is Alan Blacker and he also goes by the name Lord Harley. In various places in his correspondence, he is described as Dr Alan Blacker of Alan Blacker & Co, Dr The Rt. Hon. The Lord Harley of Counsel KGCStJ, DPhil, Senior Counsel of The Senior Courts, and Alan the Lord Harley. On the Claim Form commencing these proceedings issued on 14 September 2015, he chose Dr Alan Blacker The Lord Harley. His emails are identified as coming from "The Chambers of The Rt. Hon Lord Harley of Counsel". The prefix "The Rt. Hon" is conventionally used to refer to some peers and members of the House of Lords. "Rt. Hon" is used for members of the Privy Council, although the Claimant does not appear on the current list of members of that body, either under Blacker or Harley. He is a solicitor, and again in a variety of styles, he uses "Dr Alan Blacker & Co", which is described as an "in-house law firm where the partners and directors are regulated by the SRA and Dr Blacker is authorised and regulated by the FCA", and also "Joint Armed Forces Legal Advocacy Service" or "JAFLAS". The JAFLAS website, at www.jaflas.co.uk, refers to itself as "JAFLAS - Dr Alan Blacker & Co Solicitors" and "JAFLAS Dr Alan Blacker & Co.". It also refers to "Dr Alan Blacker and Company, Solicitor Advocates of the Supreme Court". I shall refer to the Claimant as Dr Blacker.
The Defendant is the representative body for solicitors in England and Wales. Although the Law Society has been named as defendant in these proceedings, the substance of the proceedings concerns the activities of the Solicitors Regulation Authority ("SRA"). The SRA is an independent body created by the Law Society which exercises the regulatory powers of the Law Society. The SRA regulates law firms, solicitors and others who provide legal services under statutory powers provided for in the Solicitors Act 1974, the Administration of Justice Act 1985, the Legal Services Act 2007, and the various Codes and Rules made under those Acts. The SRA's regulatory work is independent from the Law Society and it is overseen by the Legal Services Board.
JAFLAS does not, so far as I can tell, have any official connection with HM Armed Forces, although the name may suggest otherwise. JAFLAS is a registered charity. The evidence of Mr Johal, who is employed by the SRA as a Senior Legal Advisor and who provided a statement on behalf of the Defendant dated 4 November 2015, explains that the Claimant is a solicitor who provides in-house legal services to JAFLAS ("the Charity") through a company trading as "Dr A Blacker & Co. JAFLAS" ("the Company"). This is a company limited by guarantee. Neither the Charity nor the Company are directly regulated by the SRA, although the Charity has been given an SRA identification number because it employs a regulated solicitor, namely Dr Blacker. Neither the Charity nor the Company are parties to these proceedings.
The subsequent Solicitors Tribunal judgment is here.
