Sarah Mirando  |  June 14, 2013

Category: Legal News

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Ford LawsuitOn Friday, June 7, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) consolidated 15 putative class action lawsuits alleging Ford Motor Co. overstated the fuel efficiency of some of its hybrid vehicles into the Southern District of New York.

The JPML found that the class action lawsuits that are pending in 10 federal courts throughout the U.S. share similar factual questions related to Ford’s false or misleading statements about the fuel efficiency of its Fusion Hybrid and C-Max Hybrid vehicles. The multidistrict litigation (MDL) will be handled by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas.

In the motion to consolidate the Ford Hybrid class action lawsuits, plaintiffs accuse Ford of falsely claiming that these vehicles achieve 47 miles per gallon. According to the plaintiffs,  Ford has published these inflated fuel economy ratings in advertisements and on stickers placed on the vehicles. The plaintiffs contend that the vehicles do not even come close to that level of efficiency. As a result, numerous buyers have purchased Ford vehicles on the assumption that the vehicle was fuel efficient. The plaintiffs have accused Ford of manipulating and misrepresenting data about its vehicles’ fuel economy rating.

According to Consumer Reports, the Fusion Hybrid achieves only 39 miles per gallon while the Ford C-Max achieves only 37 miles per gallon. These numbers fall far below the 47 miles per gallon that Ford has advertised. The Environmental Protection Agency reviewed Ford’s fuel efficiency claims and found that the company failed to comply with the appropriate testing procedures.

These Ford Hybrid fuel economy class action lawsuits involve several factual questions, including the determination of the actual fuel economy rating, whether Ford actually manipulated the fuel economy measurements to inflate the mileage rating, and whether Ford was aware that the ratings were inaccurate. These questions must be evaluated to determine whether Ford’s representations of its vehicles’ fuel economy ratings were deceptive or misleading.

The JPML has approved these class action lawsuits for MDL in order to streamline the pretrial proceedings and ensure consistency among these similar cases. While the plaintiffs sought to have the MDL handled in the Central District of California, the JPML agreed with Ford that the Southern District of New York was a more appropriate venue. Judge Karas had already reviewed pre-motion submissions for the class action lawsuits and had scheduled a joint motion hearing regarding the filing of motions to dismiss the cases. The JPML found that the Southern District of New York was a convenient and accessible location for the litigation.

Ford is not the first automaker to face class action lawsuits related to inflated fuel efficiency estimates. Earlier this year, the JPML consolidated 12 putative class action lawsuits with similar allegations against Hyundai Motor America and Kia Motors America Inc. The MDL for these cases will be handled by a federal judge in the Central District of California.

The Ford Hybrid Fuel Economy Class Action Lawsuit case is In re: Ford Fusion and C-Max Fuel Economy Litigation, MDL No. 2450, in the U.S. Judicial Panel for Multidistrict Litigation.

 

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33 thoughts onFord Hybrid Fuel Economy Class Action Lawsuits Consolidated In MDL

  1. Jessica Dubetsky says:

    My 2014 C-max gets an average of only 34 MPG. Also when gear in park position the car rolled back into my neighbors’ house. Damaged my door, caused weeks of lost wages, and cost around $8,000 to repair. Ford dealer repair shop insisted that I put the gear in reverse and that was reason for rolling backwards. I only walked to the car and opened the door, did not get in nor move gear, but walked into my house for a 3-4 minutes. Then heard the car crash.

    There are reported problems with Ford transmissions slipping. Ford denied the problem.

    I would like compensation for repairs and lost wages.

  2. Sheila Boyer says:

    I have a 2012 Ford Fusion Hybrid and not only do I not get any better mileage than the regular Fusion, I now apparently have an ABS Control Module & Hydraulic Control Module issue that has to be fixed (77,000 miles so no warranty) at the cost of $4,000 for parts only. I really feel like this is a Ford issue because I have read so many posts online of others having this same issue. Brake light, ABS light and traction control lights on. I think someone needs to look into this for a class action. Most say there was a light dusting of snow and with me it occurred after several days of heavy rain. I think that moisture is the problem and that would be a Ford problem for not properly sealing the modules. Of course, the dealership service department said they had to replace both parts as it could be a 50/50 chance it was either one and they would not guarantee it would fix my problem. They had problems getting codes and was told this by Ford Engineers. Thanks and let me know if anyone is interested in joining a class action – hopefully can find an attorney and I would be happy to assist in locating the others online – I am a paralegal but not an attorney.

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