Michael Hodge KC (leading Mr G Kozminsky) represented the respondent, instructed by Baker McKenzie.
The Applicant, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, commenced proceedings in the Federal Court, alleging that the Respondent, eHarmony, had contravened various provisions of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), contained in Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).
Broadly, the allegations included, but were not limited to, representations and conduct relating to features and benefits of the eHarmony platform accessible with a Basic membership, such as the pricing of Premium memberships, membership renewal, and the cancellation of subscriptions. Several specific allegations were made, which were, inter alia, that the Respondent had misled consumers by representing that they could engage in “free dating”, did not disclose to consumers that additional mandatory fees applied if the consumer paid monthly, and that consumers could subscribe to a Premium membership for one month, when such subscriptions were only available for six months or more.
Horan J held the Respondent liable for the alleged conduct regarding, inter alia, the Free Dating Representations, Monthly Price Representations, Automatic Renewal Conduct, and the Cancellation Representation.
The Court ordered that by 8 September 2026, the parties file and serve agreed or, if not agreed, competing proposed orders, and by 22 September, that the parties file and serve written submissions if unable to agree on the proposed orders referred to in order
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