Automotive

Class action boutique Bannister Law must bring a formal application to partner with a US-based law firm in proceedings against Hyundai and Kia over allegedly faulty anti-lock braking systems ahead of a fight with Maurice Blackburn to run the cases.

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.

A class action against Volkswagen over allegedly deadly Takata airbags has failed a second time after an appeals court found “a merely speculative” risk of rupture was not enough to find the vehicles unacceptable.

The consumer regulator has asked a judge to impose penalties of almost $10 million  against Honda Australia for misleading the customers of two former authorised dealerships, a penalty up to 10 times what the car maker says it should pay.

A judge has thrown out claims in a $650 million lawsuit by 38 dealers against Mercedes-Benz Australia over its decision to move to a fixed-price agency model, finding the dealers’ lawsuit sought to rewrite the terms of their agreement with the car maker on more commercially favourable terms.

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. 

A judge has ruled that HWL Ebsworth’s negligent advice over property in Paramatta’s ‘Auto Alley’ cost a client $2 million, rejecting the firm’s plea of contributory negligence against the owner.

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.

A judge overseeing the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s case alleging auto mechanic Ultra Tune failed to comply with court orders has labelled its managing director Sean Buckley as “one of the more dreadful witnesses” he had seen.