Peter Strickland

A judge has hit BlueScope Steel with a $57.5 million penalty for engaging in attempted cartel conduct and ordered a former executive to personally pay a $575,000 penalty.

Two courts have ruled that in competing class actions against Hyundai and Kia over allegedly faulty anti-lock braking systems, a plaintiff’s bid to transfer one of the cases from Victoria to the Federal Court should precede a carriage fight, deeming it the “straightforward” option. 

Damages for reduction in value under the Australian Consumer Law are at the centre of competing special leave applications to the High Court filed by Toyota and the lead applicant in a class action over defective diesel filters.

BlueScope Steel spent $27 million defending the ACCC’s claims that it engaged in serious cartel conduct in relation to the supply of flat steel products in Australia, and its apologies came too late to warrant a penalty discount, a court has heard.

An appeals court has partially sided with Toyota in a challenge to the damages bill assessed by a judge in a class action over defective diesel filters, saying the reduction in value of affected cars should be assessed at 10 per cent, not 17.5 per cent, of the price paid by motorists.

Lawyerly’s Litigation Law Firms of 2022 racked up precedent-setting victories in a year that continued to see major developments in class action law.

Despite noting that a class action trial and appeal were “unusual”, a judge overseeing a long-running class action against Ford has refused an application to send a notice to group members about a coming appeal in the case.

Toyota has lodged an appeal of a judgment that could see it owe around $2 billion to 260,000 car owners for selling vehicles with defective diesel filters for more than they were worth.

Ford is seeking an extended hearing of its appeal from a class action judgment in favour of 185,000 vehicle owners over their allegedly defective cars, saying a “significant excavation” of the ruling is now in order. 

A judge has awarded a Queensland motor vehicle assessor $18,400 in damages in a class action against Toyota over allegedly defective diesel filters in its cars that could see the automotive giant owe close to $2 billion to 260,000 car owners.