Barter v Southeast Auto Sales Pty Ltd - [2024] QCAT 277

QUEENSLAND CIVIL AND
ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL

CITATION:

Barter v Southeast Auto Sales Pty Ltd [2024] QCAT 277

PARTIES:

ALAN BARTER

(applicant)

v

SOUTHEAST AUTO SALES PTY LTD

(respondent)

APPLICATION NO/S:

MVL247-22

MATTER TYPE:

Motor vehicle matter

DELIVERED ON:

12 July 2024

HEARING DATE:

On the papers

HEARD AT:

Brisbane

DECISION OF:

Member D Brown

ORDERS:

Southeast Auto Sales Pty Ltd is to pay Alan Barter $5, 616 within 28 days, consisting of:

(a) Damages of $5,331 for the costs of identifying and repairing the defects with the gearbox and clutch; and

(b) Damages of $285 in relation to towing costs.

CATCHWORDS:

TRADE AND COMMERCE – COMPETITION, FAIR TRADING AND CONSUMER PROTECTION LEGISLATION – CONSUMER PROTECTION – GUARANTEES, CONDITIONS AND WARRANTIES IN CONSUMER TRANSACTIONS – whether motor vehicle of acceptable quality – where vehicle sold second hand as “used car” and vehicle manufactured 21 years prior to purchase – whether failure to comply with consumer guarantees – whether the evidence established a defect with the vehicle as at time of sale.

Motor Dealers and Chattel Auctioneers Act 2014 (Qld), s 4(2), s 7(1)(a), s 7(1)(b), s 8, s 9(2), s 12, Schedule 1
Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (Qld), s 9, s 10, s 92, s93
Fair Trading Act 1984 (Qld), s 50A

Australian Consumer Law (Queensland), s 54, s 56, s 259, s 260

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission v Jayco Corporation Pty Ltd [2020] FCA 1672
Morphy v Beaufort Townsville Pty Ltd [2018] VCAT 1520
Vautin v BY Winddown, Inc (formerly Bertram Yachts) (No 4) [2018] FCA 426

Williams v Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Ltd [2022] FCA 344

APPEARANCES & REPRESENTATION:

This matter was heard and determined on the papers pursuant to s 32 of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (Qld)

REASONS FOR DECISION

Background

On 10 November 2022 the applicant, Mr Alan Barter filed an Application – Motor Vehicle Dispute with the Tribunal, seeking compensation of $60,000 from the respondent, Southeast Auto Sales Pty Ltd (‘Southeast Auto’). The claim was made under the Fair Trading Act 1989 (Qld) (‘Fair Trading Act’).
On 22 December 2021 Mr Barter purchased a 2000 Landcruiser Prado RV vehicle from Southeast Auto for $10,000. The vehicle had an odometer reading of 449,108 at the time of the sale. The vehicle came with a one month/1,000 km Class B statutory warranty under the Motor Dealers and Chattel Auctioneers Act 2014 (Qld).
On 27 December 2021 while driving on the Logan Motorway after returning from a holiday in the Gold Coast, the vehicle started to shudder and the clutch and gears failed, causing the vehicle to break down on the side of the Logan motorway at or near the Larapinta Truckstop.
Mr Barter called Mr Anthony Duck (‘Mr Duck’), General Manager from Southeast Auto seeking assistance with a tow truck due to the vehicle breaking down on the side of the road. Mr Duck was unable to assist as he was with his family and advised he would not…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2024] QCAT 277
Decision Date: 12 July 2024

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Alan Barter brought an action against Southeast Auto Sales Pty Ltd in the Federal Circuit Court of Australia, alleging that a vehicle sold to him by the defendant was not of acceptable quality as required under the Australian Consumer Law. The vehicle in question was a second-hand car that had been manufactured 21 years prior to the sale. Barter argued that the vehicle had significant defects, specifically with the gearbox and clutch, which were present at the time of the sale and thus breached the consumer guarantees.

The court was required to determine whether the vehicle met the standard of acceptable quality as mandated by the Australian Consumer Law and whether the seller had breached any consumer protection provisions by failing to comply with these guarantees. The court had to consider whether the evidence presented established that the defects in question were present at the time of the sale and if they were significant enough to constitute a breach of the consumer guarantees.

The court found that the vehicle sold by Southeast Auto Sales Pty Ltd did not meet the standard of acceptable quality. It was established that the defects in the gearbox and clutch were present at the time of sale and were significant enough to constitute a breach of the consumer guarantees. The court awarded Barter damages of $5,331 for the costs associated with identifying and repairing these defects, as well as an additional $285 for towing costs incurred as a result of the vehicle's condition.

The court ordered that Southeast Auto Sales Pty Ltd pay Barter the total sum of $5,616 within 28 days, which included both the damages for the repair costs and the towing expenses.

Orders

Orders of the court

Southeast Auto Sales Pty Ltd is to pay Alan Barter $5, 616 within 28 days, consisting of:

(a) Damages of $5,331 for the costs of identifying and repairing the defects with the gearbox and clutch; and

(b) Damages of $285 in relation to towing costs.

Background

Background to the litigation

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Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

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Decision

Reasons for decision

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Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

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