The Federal Court today found Mr David Hughes, trading as Crowded Planet, guilty of contempt of court.
Justice Tamberlin sentenced Mr Hughes to two weeks' imprisonment, but ordered that the warrant for Mr Hughes' committal to prison lie in the registry for 30 days to allow Mr Hughes a further chance to comply with the court's order.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission instituted contempt of court proceedings against Mr Hughes on 22 November 2000. The ACCC alleged that Mr Hughes was guilty of contempt of court by failing to comply with orders made by the Federal Court on 9 November 2000. On that date the court ordered that Mr Hughes post a notice on his website to the effect that oral contraceptives will not be sold or supplied by Crowded Planet to anyone in Australia.
The ACCC alleged, that despite a number of changes being made to the website after this order was made, the notice that oral contraceptives will not be sold or supplied to anyone in Australia was not posted upon the website. The court found that the ACCC had proven that Mr Hughes had committed contempt.
Justice Tamberlin said he was satisfied that Hughes is not expressly setting out to defy the court but "he is treating the orders of the court with disdain, as if they were merely suggestions that can be ignored. It is essential that the seriousness of his contempt is brought home to him and he must realise, no matter how worthy he sees his ideals, that his perceptions do not constitute a licence to ignore court orders or legislation directed to the protection of public health and the prohibition of deceptive conduct.
"Moreover, I do not consider that a fine would be sufficient to bring home to Hughes the seriousness of his contempt in the present matter. I consider that Hughes' conduct, having regard to his cavalier approach to the order, is sufficiently serious to warrant a term of imprisonment for two weeks".
ACCC Commissioner Mr Sitesh Bhojani said the judgment reflected that the ACCC was serious about its legal actions. It relies on parties to obey court orders, and when they do not, it will vigorously pursue the matter. This is particularly so in the present case which raises significant questions of public health. This decision again sends a very strong message to the community that the courts will not tolerate their orders being ignored.
"Consumer protection in the health sector is a high priority for the ACCC".