Integrity Car Care ACN 056 621 893 v Godber

The case of Integrity Car Care ACN 056 621 893 v Godber involved a dispute over the replacement of a defective part, specifically a cooling fan relay, under a motor vehicle warranty. The respondent, Godber, sought to have the part replaced under the terms of the warranty, but the appellant, Integrity Car Care, denied the claim, stating that the defective part was not covered by the terms of the warranty. The matter was heard in the Consumer, Trading and Tenancy Tribunal, and Godber subsequently appealed to a higher court.

The primary legal issues the court had to address were whether the limitation to parts "specifically listed" in the warranty was transparent and therefore valid under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), whether there was a breach of the ACL, and whether there was a denial of procedural fairness. The court had to interpret the definitions of "unfair" and "transparent" as provided by the ACL and consider whether the warranty terms were clear and easily understood by the consumer.

The court found that the original tribunal had erred in its interpretation of the warranty terms and in its finding of liability under the ACL. The court held that the defective part in question was indeed a component of the "specifically listed" part (cooling fan) and therefore should have been covered under the warranty. Furthermore, the court determined that the limitation to parts "specifically listed" was not transparent, making the limitation void under the ACL. However, the court found that the original tribunal had not denied procedural fairness, and the appeal on this ground was dismissed. The appeal was ultimately dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the respondent $415.42 by 1 June 2023.