Takata lawsuits in NSW settled by major car companies for $52 million

Six major car companies have agreed to settle class-action lawsuits for a total of $52 million, following a major recall of deadly Takata airbags.

Legal actions in the NSW Supreme Court against Toyota, Subaru, Honda, BMW, Nissan, and Mazda were settled in mediation, with reports lawyers for the plaintiffs will walk away with $15.3 million of the total amount settled.

In identical statements issued to WhichCar, representatives for a number of car companies said they had “advised the NSW Supreme Court that [each manufacturer had] reached an in-principle settlement of a class action relating to Takata airbags.”

“The settlement involving several brands is subject to final court approval. [The car companies and their] dealers have worked diligently to complete the Takata recalls and minimise customer inconvenience.”

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Last week, Justice Stevenson formally dismissed similar proceedings against Volkswagen and ordered the plaintiff – a university professor and the owner of a 2013 Volkswagen Passat – to pay costs related to the lawsuit.

In June, Justice Stevenson ruled there had been no actual loss or damage from the owner having had the Takata airbag installed in his vehicle.

In August, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched legal action against Mercedes-Benz, accusing it of minimising the risk of serious injury of death from the faulty Takata products.

The ACCC alleges Mercedes-Benz staff downplayed the risks “on at least 73 occasions,” stating the recall was precautionary in nature and “there had been no incidents, accidents, injuries or deaths … at all,” despite there already having been one fatality in Australia at that time and one serious injury recorded.

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In early 2018, Government officials issued a compulsory recall for all vehicles fitted with defective Takata airbags following an investigation by the ACCC.

While there have been 33 deaths related to the faulty airbags worldwide, it’s estimated 3.77 million have been replaced under the recall in Australia – with just 81 faulty examples estimated to remain out in the community.

As Takata was one of the world’s largest suppliers, its faulty airbags were fitted to 40 million cars across 12 major car brands, resulting in the largest automotive recall in history.