Volkswagen has lost its challenge to a landmark $125 million Dieselgate penalty handed down by a judge who lambasted a $75 million fine proposed by the ACCC as “manifestly inadequate”, in what ACCC chair Rod Sims told Lawyerly was a “turning point” for the regulator to push for higher fines.
South Korean car maker Hyundai is facing a possible class action after it recalled over 90,000 cars earlier this month over safety concerns.
Norwegian shipping company Wallenius Wilhlmsen Ocean has been fined $24 million for conspiring to fix the rates charged for shipping vehicles to Australia, bringing the total fines won by the ACCC over the shipping cartel to $83.5 million.
The wealthy founder of auto repair franchisor Ultra Tune has secured a temporary injunction against his ex-girlfriend and a former employee prohibiting them from distributing secret recordings after excerpts from one damaging audio file were published by Fairfax.
Andrew Hopkins has resigned from his position as group CEO of automotive repair firm AMA and has discontinued his lawsuit against the company despite a Federal Court injunction barring his dismissal amid allegations of fraud.
Automotive firm AMA Group will seek to discharge an injunction preventing it from dismissing a CEO who has been accused of defrauding the company of “hundreds of thousands of dollars” and damaging its reputation with major partners.
A judge has rebuked the “procedural vulgarities” plaguing a referee’s supplementary report in a class action against Toyota over allegedly defective vehicles and has called for the process to be simplified.
A judge has rejected a bid by Uber to significantly trim a class action brought by Maurice Blackburn on behalf of successors and assignees or taxi drivers after the law firm unsuccessfully sought to add them to a separate class action against the ride share giant.
A lawyer for group members in a class action against Toyota is seeking aggregate damages relating to vehicle defects that allegedly had a “significant impact” on fuel consumption.
Car giant Toyota, which is facing a class action over allegedly faulty diesel particulate filters in some of its vehicles, has agreed to step up its compliance with consumer laws, including how it communicates with car owners about mechanical issues.