Ford Cracked Tailgate Class Action Lawsuit Trimmed

A federal judge on Tuesday granted Ford’s motion to dismiss warranty claims from a class action lawsuit over allegedly defective tailgates in Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator and Mercury Mountaineer SUVs, but stopped short of dismissing the case entirely.

Plaintiffs in the consolidated Ford tailgate class action lawsuit alleged that Ford Motor Company knew that tailgate panels cracked on certain sport utility models, but concealed this defect from consumers.

The Ford cracked tailgate class action lawsuit involves 30 named plaintiffs from 25 states who seek to represent a nationwide class of millions of current and former owners or lessees of Ford vehicles. The plaintiffs allege that due to faulty manufacturing, the 2002-2005 Ford Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers, and 2003-2005 Lincoln Aviators were defective because the panel on the rear liftgate of the vehicles is prone to cracking, posing a safety hazard. None of the named plaintiffs claim the panels their vehicles exhibited any cracking during their warranty period.

“Ford first argues that plaintiffs’ express and implied warranty claims must be dismissed because none of the plaintiffs aver that the alleged defect (i.e., the cracked tailgate) manifested during the warranty period,” the judge wrote. “In response, plaintiffs counter that the alleged defect is not a cracked tailgate but rather a defective tailgate made from material prone to cracking. … In other words, according to plaintiffs, a cracked tailgate is simply a by-product of the defect and not the defect itself.”

The judge agreed with Ford, stating, “Ford persuasively argues that a majority of states have rejected similar latent defect claims, invoking cases from many—though not all—of the states in which plaintiffs bring express warranty claims.” Further, “Ford also points to a Ninth Circuit case recognizing that California has adopted this majority position: ‘The general rule is that an express warranty does not cover repairs made after the applicable time or mileage periods have elapsed.'”

Judge Seeborg also dismissed the breach of implied warranty claims, stating that the Uniform Commercial Code, “as adopted by each of the plaintiffs’ states, permits sellers or manufacturers to limit expressly the duration of any implied warranties, as does the federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act,” and “Plaintiffs do not challenge Ford’s ability to impose such a limit. … Nor do they make any allegation that this particular provision was unconscionable.”

“Instead, plaintiffs assert that the same latent defect theory discussed above makes this provision inapplicable as the vehicles were therefore not fit at the time of sale,” the judge wrote. “In the absence of any allegation by plaintiffs that the durational limit here was unconscionable or otherwise invalid, plaintiffs implied warranties claims must be dismissed without leave to amend.”

However, the judge refused to dismiss some of the plaintiffs’ consumer protection and deceptive trade practices claims.

The plaintiffs executive committee is represented by Matthew L. Cantor, Sylvia M. Sokol and David A. Scupp of Constantine Cannon LLP; Keith G. Bremer and Alison K. Hurley of Bremer Whyte Brown & O’Meara LLP; and Grant L. Davis, Thomas C. Jones and Timothy C. Gaarder of Davis Bethune & Jones LLC.

The consolidated Ford Cracked Tailgate Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Ford Tailgate Litigation, Case No. 3:11-cv-02953, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Join a Free Ford Cracked Tailgate Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you purchased, owned or leased a model year 2002-2005 Ford Explorer, 2002-2005 Mercury Mountaineer, and/or model year 2003- 2005 Lincoln Aviator and experienced any of the following problems, you may have a legal claim:

• Ford Explorer cracked tailgate
• Mercury Mountaineer cracked tailgate
• Lincoln Aviator cracked tailgate
• Shattered backlite (rear window)
  
• Ford applique crack
• Applique separated, fell off or flew off from the vehicle