Honda Faulty Side Airbag Settlement Wins Final OK

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On Wednesday, a California federal court granted final approval of a settlement proposal in the class action lawsuit alleging defects in certain Honda Accord vehicles cause side airbags to deploy without cause.

The court granted final approval of a class action settlement agreement that would require Honda to make repairs to the affected Accord model vehicles. The Honda faulty side airbag settlement is estimated to come to more than $6 million and will affect thousands of Accord coupes and sedans.

Lead plaintiffs Heather Gutierrez and Connie Kaupa filed the airbag defect class action lawsuit against Honda in California federal court in 2009. They alleged that model year 2003, 2004 and 2008 Honda Accords contained a defect that caused their side airbags to deploy while driving normally. The plaintiffs also alleged that Honda refused to take corrective action, such as recalls or offering repairs, despite being aware of the airbag defect. The plaintiffs argued that Honda failed to notify owners about the issue and communicated to Accord owners there was nothing wrong with the side airbag system.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary granted final approval to the Honda faulty side airbag class action settlement. According to the settlement deal, the auto maker Honda will provide free repairs to approximately 1,800 Class Members. Class Members include 2003, 2004 and 2008 model year Accord owners who never sought repairs for airbags that deployed inadvertently. According to the Honda settlement agreement, the repairs cost owners $3,000 to $5,000. As such, the value of the settlement to Class Members will be more than $6 million.

Under the terms of the Honda faulty side airbag class action settlement, Honda has also agreed to provide for future repairs to Accord owners whose vehicles’ side airbags inadvertently deploy over the next two years. A number of Class Members with out of pocket expenses will be reimbursed for repairs.

On Wednesday, representatives for the Class admitted there would be significant technical issues to establish to bring the case to litigation, but, the representatives told Judge Zouhary the class action settlement proposal warranted approval. According to the attorneys representing the Class, the proposed Honda faulty side airbag settlement figures represent a number that could have doubled or tripled if the “expert-heavy” litigation had proceeded to trial.

According to party representatives, this class action lawsuit and settlement are not related to litigation pending against Honda and other carmakers concerning the Takata Inc. airbag defect.

Further information about the Honda side airbag defect class action lawsuit settlement was not immediately available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.

The plaintiffs and Class Members are represented by Mike Arias and Alfredo Torrijos of Arias Ozzello & Gignac LLP Robert L. Esensten and Jordan S. Esensten of Esensten Law and Brian D. Chase of Bisnar Chase.

The Honda Faulty Side Airbag Class Action Lawsuit is Heather Gutierrez, et al. v. American Honda Motor Co. Inc., Case No. 5:09-cv-01517, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.