MOONLIGHTING INTERNATIONAL PTY LTD V INTERNATIONAL LIGHTING PTY
LTD & ORS [2000] FCA 41
Federal Court of Australia – 31 January 2000
FACTS
Moonlighting was the exclusive distributor for Australia of products manufactured by Kim Lighting, a company from California. Kim Lighting wished to appoint International Lighting as its exclusive distributor for Australia and on 8 November 1999 it sent a notice of termination of the distributorship to Moonlighting purporting to terminate the distributorship from 1 December 1999.
Moonlighting claimed that it should have been given six months’ notice of termination and issued legal proceedings in the Federal Court.
Moonlighting sought interlocutory injunctions to restrain Kim Lighting from acting on its termination of the distributorship and to restrain Kim Lighting and International Lighting from claiming that International Lighting was the exclusive Australian distributor of Kim Lighting’s products.
ISSUES
Did the law of Victoria or California apply to the distributorship contract?
Was there an arguable case that Kim Lighting had failed to give reasonable notice which would justify an interlocutory injunction to prevent Kim Lighting acting on its termination?
Should the Court grant an interlocutory injunction to prevent Kim Lighting and International Lighting claiming that International Lighting was the exclusive Australian distributor?
FINDING
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