Kenneth John Williams & Anor v Toyota Motor Corporation Australia Limited (ACN 009 686 097) (Toyota Class Action)

Below is a summary of the key developments in the class action since the last update you received on 26 November 2021.

Initial Trial

As foreshadowed in our last update, the initial trial for the class action took place between 29 November and 21 December 2021.

The issues that were the subject of the initial trial included:

• whether the affected vehicles were not of acceptable quality (as required by the Australian Consumer Law) because of their defective DPF systems;
• whether Toyota engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct in connection with marketing and selling the affected vehicles;
• whether the value of the affected vehicles was reduced as a result of their defective DPF systems, and if so, by how much; and
• the representative applicant’s personal claim for loss and damage.

Prior to the initial trial, each party provided the Court with comprehensive written submissions outlining their positions in respect of these issues.

During the initial trial, each party called lay and expert witnesses to give evidence concerning the issues before the Court.

The witnesses called by the applicants were:

• Mr Kenneth Williams: the representative applicant;
• Mr Graeme Cuthbert: a motor vehicle valuation expert;
• Mr Ted Stockton: an econometric expert; and
• Mr Stefan Boedeker: a conjoint and statistical analysis expert.

The witnesses called by Toyota were:

• Mr Martin Nelson: Divisional Manager at Toyota;
• Mr Tim O’Mara: a valuation expert;
• Dr Christopher Pleatsikas: an econometric expert; and
• Dr Peter Rossi: a statistical analysis expert.

After these witnesses gave their evidence, both parties provided the Court with written and oral closing submissions. Having heard these oral closing submissions, the Court reserved its judgment to be delivered at a future, unspecified date.

Judgment

We anticipate that the Court will deliver its judgment in early 2022. We confirm that group members do not need to do anything at this stage of the class action.

We will provide a further update to you as soon as possible after judgment is delivered to inform you of the Court’s decision and of any likely next steps.