Harry Hill-Smith

General Motors has failed to overturn a decision that put it on the hook for the applicant’s full costs in a partial settlement in a class action on behalf of Holden dealers, with an appeals court finding GM could not “walk away” from the ordinary meaning of the phrase ‘the plaintiff’s costs of the proceedings’.

An appeals court has questioned General Motors’ construction of its settlement with the applicant in a class action on behalf of Holden dealers, as the car maker seeks to overturn a ruling that put it on the hook for the applicant’s full costs.

General Motors is stuck with the full costs of the applicant in a Holden dealers’ class action as part of a settlement with the dealership, despite arguing it had intended by its offer to pay the costs incurred only by the lead plaintiff itself.

General Motors has been accused of having “carefully curated” its list of witnesses to avoid giving evidence about the car maker’s decision to stop supplying Holden-branded vehicles in Australia, as trial in a class action by Holden dealers kicks off.

General Motors could be stuck paying more costs than it bargained for after it settled with the lead plaintiff in a class action over a decision to retire the Holden brand.

Holden dealers in a class action over GM’s decision to retire the brand in March 2020 have taken issue with the car maker’s counterfactual in defence, which argues the plant supplying Holden’s best-selling models would have closed anyway.

The lead plaintiff in a class action by dealers over a decision to retire the Holden brand has settled its claim with General Motors, but is set to remain as the lead plaintiff in the case.

Defending a class action by dealers over a decision to retire Holden, General Motors argues it would have been forced to close the unprofitable plant that manufactured the vehicles for the Australian market even absent the 2020 withdrawal of the iconic brand.

Car dealers that brought a class action against General Motors over its decision to retire the Holden brand in Australia are refuting the car maker’s claims that they did not mitigate their alleged losses, telling the court they signed 1-year support agreements which GM has yet to execute.

A judge has struck out a defence invoking the right against self-incrimination in a $2 million case brought by freight company Maersk alleging a Melbourne waste tyre company director used the shipper to dump end-of-life tyres overseas.