Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Mazda Australia Pty Ltd

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) brought proceedings against Mazda Australia Pty Ltd in the Federal Court of Australia, alleging breaches of consumer law under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). The ACCC argued that Mazda made misleading or deceptive representations to consumers regarding their rights under the statutory guarantee provisions of the ACL, including misleading them about their entitlement to reject goods and their right to a refund or replacement. The ACCC further alleged that Mazda's conduct was unconscionable under section 21 of the ACL.

The legal issues before the court included whether Mazda's representations, made as opinions, had a reasonable basis and whether they misled or deceived consumers about their rights under the ACL. The court also needed to determine whether Mazda's conduct was unconscionable. The court considered whether Mazda had given any consideration to the consumers' entitlements to a refund or replacement, and whether Mazda's representations were misleading or deceptive in light of the consumers' rights under the ACL.

The court found that Mazda's representations had no reasonable basis and were misleading or deceptive because they did not consider the consumers' entitlements under the ACL. The court held that Mazda's conduct was not unconscionable because there was no evidence of a system or pattern of such conduct. The court ordered that the parties confer and submit joint or separate proposals for the further conduct of the proceeding, including the determination of remedies, costs, and any other orders to give effect to these reasons. A case management hearing was also fixed to address these proposals.