Philip Santucci (led by J T Gleeson SC and C S Ward SC) appeared in the High Court of Australia’s recent decision on damages for misleading and deceptive conduct in Berry v CCL Secure Pty Ltd [2020] HCA 27.
The case is a further chapter in the Securency polymer note scandal first revealed in 2009. Mr Santucci appeared for the successful appellants who had been misled by Securency into giving up their agency agreement. Before the Full Federal Court, Securency had succeeded in reducing the damages award by arguing that it could have used its contractual power to terminate the appellants if it had not chosen to mislead them.
On appeal to the High Court, that finding was overturned. The High Court found that because Securency deliberately deceived the appellant, the natural inference was that Securency was not and would not have been prepared to terminate the agreement by lawful means. The High Court awarded judgment for the appellants in an amount of $27 million.
