The Court dismissed a defamation proceeding for want of jurisdiction because the allegedly defamatory statements were published only in New South Wales, and the Federal Court's defamation jurisdiction under s 9(3) of the Cross-vesting Act extends only to publications in the ACT or Northern Territory. The Court refused leave to amend the originating application to add an ACL claim (aiding and abetting a misleading representation under s 18), finding the proposed claim was colourable — fabricated to manufacture federal jurisdiction — as evidenced by the chronology (the ACL claim was raised only on the eve of the dismissal hearing, over two years after the events) and by fundamental deficiencies in the pleading, including failure to plead reasonable grounds for the future representation, failure to plead the respondents' knowledge required for accessorial liability, and an incoherent causation and loss case. Indemnity costs were ordered on the basis of the hopelessness of the amendment application, unreasonable conduct, and an unreplied Calderbank offer.
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