Holden dealers in a class action over GM’s decision to retire the brand in March 2020 have taken issue with the car maker’s counterfactual in defence, which argues the plant supplying Holden’s best-selling models would have closed anyway.
The lead plaintiff in a class action by dealers over a decision to retire the Holden brand has settled its claim with General Motors, but is set to remain as the lead plaintiff in the case.
Defending a class action by dealers over a decision to retire Holden, General Motors argues it would have been forced to close the unprofitable plant that manufactured the vehicles for the Australian market even absent the 2020 withdrawal of the iconic brand.
Car dealers that brought a class action against General Motors over its decision to retire the Holden brand in Australia are refuting the car maker’s claims that they did not mitigate their alleged losses, telling the court they signed 1-year support agreements which GM has yet to execute.
A judge has struck out a defence invoking the right against self-incrimination in a $2 million case brought by freight company Maersk alleging a Melbourne waste tyre company director used the shipper to dump end-of-life tyres overseas.
Car dealers that have brought a class action against General Motors over its decision to retire the Holden brand in Australia rejected offers of compensation totaling close to $5 million, according to court documents.
General Motors Holden Australia has denied that it owes compensation to Holden dealers over its decision to retire the iconic brand in Australia, and says its dependence on other GM units to supply the cars constituted “an event beyond its reasonable control”.
General Motors has lost its bid to de-class a representative proceeding brought by former Holden dealers over its decision to retire the iconic brand, with a judge rejecting the car maker’s “speculative” argument that it would be prejudiced by further lawsuits after the class action was finalised.
Car giant General Motors, which faces a class action by former Holden franchisees, wants to strip the case of class status, arguing that “idiosyncrasies” in group member claims could result in further lawsuits even after a judgment in the case.