Catchwords:

Damages – Assessment – Consumer law – Where appellant brought representative proceedings against respondent on behalf of persons who acquired motor vehicles fitted with “DPS6” transmission – Where vehicles had at least one of five defects – Where primary judge concluded vehicles did not comply with guarantee of “acceptable quality” in s 54(1) of Australian Consumer Law (“ACL”) at time of supply – Where s 271(1) of ACL provides that if guarantee under s 54 is not complied with, “an affected person in relation to the goods may … recover damages from the manufacturer” – Where s 272(1)(a) provides that “an affected person in relation to goods is entitled to recover damages for … any reduction in the value of the goods, resulting from the failure to comply with the guarantee to which the action relates” – Where primary judge assessed damages payable under s 272(1)(a) – Where primary judge did not consider whether adverse consequences of each defect materialised in appellant’s vehicle and fact that some defective components were replaced after date of supply – Where Full Court of Federal Court of Australia followed decision of Full Court in Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Ltd v Williams (2023) 296 FCR 514 – Where Full Court held subsequent events were capable of bearing on assessment of damages under s 272(1)(a) and primary judge erred in not considering information known at time of trial and appellant’s use of vehicle up until time of trial – Whether Full Court erred in finding that assessment of damages under s 272(1)(a) may require departure from time of supply or adjustment to avoid “over-compensation” – Whether Full Court erred in finding that assessment of damages under s 272(1)(a) required having regard to events after time of supply.

Words and phrases – “assessment of damages”, “consumer”, “damages”, “defect”, “guarantee of acceptable quality”, “loss-based damages”, “materialisation of risks”, “over-compensation”, “performance-based damages”, “reduction in value”, “repair”, “state and condition of the goods”, “time of supply”, “time of trial”.