Ford Power Steering Defect Class Action Will Continue

In a class action alleging Ford Motor Co. produced and hid defects in certain models of its vehicles, a federal judge struck down Ford’s argument that claims in the case should be trimmed from the lawsuit in light of its recent recall.

In their lawsuit filed in July of 2014, lead plaintiffs alleged that Ford falsely advertised that vehicles’ electronic power assisted steering enhanced vehicle safety despite knowing the system is “prone to sudden and premature failure,” causing drivers to lose their ability to steer the car.

Ford filed a motion to dismiss the claims from the class action in April of 2015; however, U.S. District Court Judge Lucy H. Koh disagreed with most of Ford’s arguments in an order issued this week. Ford argued that since the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration issued a recall over the sudden failure of power steering in certain Focus and Fusion models, the Administration should have authority over the case and the class action filed in federal court should be dismissed.

Judge Koh disagreed, saying that if the class action was successful, Class Members could be entitled to reimbursement from Ford outside of the recall’s Dec. 31 deadline. The judge also pointed out that Ford could be required to pay for market losses if the class action is successful.

“Both of these points lead towards the same conclusion: the relief that California plaintiffs seek and the relief that Ford has provided under the recall are not one and the same,” said the judge in her order.

Judge Koh did trim claims brought by a class action plaintiff who received a Ford Fusion from another family member. Judge Koh found that the plaintiff had not suffered economic loss.

In her order, Judge Koh highlighted that one of the plaintiffs alleged that Ford refused to replace her power steering system on multiple occasions. Judge Koh pointed out that this indicated that Ford may not manage the recall efficiently or effectively.

Ford argued that to continue the class action would jeopardize how relief would be administered to Class Members; however, Judge Koh shot down this argument as well. According to the judge’s order, Ford’s argument depends on the facts of the case that need to be determined at trial.

“Both parties have thus presented evidence in support of their respective positions,” said the juge in her order. “California Plaintiffs rely upon emails, testimony, and internal communications. Ford relies upon design differences and differences in warranty claim rates,” she explained.

“Taken together, this evidence raises several genuine disputes of material fact. In addition, these factual disputes go directly to the merits of California Plaintiffs’ claims. Resolution of these disputes, for instance, is essential to determining what caused the defects at issue, whether and when Ford knew about these defects, and whether these defects were isolated to a single vehicle sold across two model years (as Ford contends) or whether these defects were more widespread (as California Plaintiffs allege),” concluded the judge.

The plaintiffs are represented by Roland Tellis and Mark Pifko of Baron & Budd PC, Adam J. Levitt, John E. Tangren and Mary S. Thomas of Grant & Eisenhofer PA and Niall A. Paul and Nathan B. Atkinson of Spilman Thomas & Battle PLLC.

The Ford Power Steering Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Philips, et al. v. Ford Motor Co., Case No. 14-cv-02989, in U.S. District for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On Mar. 24, 2016, Ford Motor Co. asked a federal judge to dismiss an implied warranty claim in a proposed class action suit against the car manufacturer over faulty power steering claims in certain models of Focus and Fusion vehicles. Ford stated that the claim was already dropped previously and could not be added back as part of the current lawsuit.
UPDATE 2: On May 3, 2016, a federal judge denied Ford Motor Co.’s request to dismissimplied warranty claims from a consumer class action lawsuit alleging the power steering system in some Ford cars is prone to failure.UPDATE 3: On Sept. 19, 2016,Ford opposed class certificationby arguing the plaintiffs’ claims don’t raise issues common to the proposed Class.UPDATE 4: On Dec. 22, 2016, a California federal judge denied a motion for Class certification in a class action lawsuit filed by three Ford drivers who allege certain Ford Focus and Fusion vehicles are affected by a power steering defect.

UPDATE 5: On Jan. 10, 2017, Ford Motor Company asked the court to grant summary judgement in a class action lawsuit brought by California drivers who say the automaker concealed certain power steering defects in Fusion and Focus cars.