A Queensland man claiming he can cure cancer with diet and exercise wants to appeal a court order shutting down his business and website.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) won an interim injunction in March against Darryl Peter Jones, the founder of The Darryl Jones Health Resolution Centre.
In the Full Court of the Federal Court in Brisbane on Friday, Mr Jones sought permission to appeal the court order.
The ACCC alleges Mr Jones' medical treatment claims are misleading or deceptive under the Trade Practices Act.
Before it was shut down, Mr Jones' website advertised a cancer treatment program involving an exercise regime, the consumption of vitamin B17 and restriction of glucose in the diet.
The injunction stopped Nambour-based Mr Jones from promoting his treatments without first obtaining written medical or scientific advice in support of his treatment from a registered medical practitioner.
His website was blocked with a court notice from the ACCC, but his Facebook page remains operational with 46 members.
The court order also forced Mr Jones to surrender his list of clients and provide each of them with a copy of the court order.
Mr Jones' lawyer Bruce Levet argued that the court did not have the power to restrict the website because Mr Jones was not a corporation but a sole trader and not engaging in interstate commerce and trade.
Mr Levet told the court his client had been forced to close his business because of the court order not to make any representations about his treatments.
"At a large cost to Mr Jones ... and at the cost possibly to the patients who rely on him for treatment," he said.
Mr Levet asked for an extension of time for his appeal due to special circumstances. The court was told Mr Jones had moved out of his home and out of his business premises.
Mr Levet said Mr Jones had cash flow problems and was not eligible for Centrelink or Legal Aid.
The lawyer for the ACCC, Matthew Brady, said Mr Jones did not have to close his business if he could get medical and scientific evidence to back up his medical claims.
"This man is not a doctor and has no medical qualifications at all," he said.
"There is no substantial injustice."
Justice Berna Collier reserved her decision and will decide whether Mr Jones can appeal the court order in the next two weeks.
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COMMENT: Is Darryl Peter Jones a cancer quack like
Milan Brych in Queensland over 20 years ago or is he
a genuine cancer therapist? You be the judge.
