Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Mazda Australia Pty Limited

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) filed an action against Mazda Australia Pty Limited (Mazda) in the Federal Court of Australia, alleging that Mazda had contravened sections 18(1) and 29(1)(m) of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) by making false representations concerning the existence or effect of consumer guarantees, rights, or remedies, and by falsely claiming it had reasonable grounds to believe that certain consumers were not entitled to a refund or replacement vehicle at no cost. The primary judge found Mazda guilty of these breaches, leading to an appeal by Mazda. The appeal contested the primary judge's findings on both the misleading or deceptive conduct and the unconscionable conduct allegations.

The court examined whether Mazda's conduct constituted misleading or deceptive representations and unconscionable behaviour. Regarding misleading or deceptive conduct, the court concluded that Mazda's representations were misleading even if the consumers knew their rights, as the representations were inherently misleading. The court also noted that consumers' awareness of their legal options did not negate the misleading nature of Mazda's representations. As for unconscionable conduct, the court found that Mazda's conduct, while disappointing, did not sufficiently deviate from acceptable commercial practices to be considered unconscionable. The court acknowledged the complexity of the primary judge's task but concluded that the primary judge's reasoning was inadequate to support a finding of unconscionable conduct.

Mazda's appeal was dismissed on both grounds. The Federal Court upheld the primary judge's findings that Mazda had engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct but rejected the unconscionable conduct claim. The court ordered Mazda to pay the ACCC's costs of the appeal within 14 days, with provisions for the parties to agree on the amount or for the court to determine the costs if they could not agree.