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MINI Cooper transmission defect class action settlement

MINI Cooper owners waiting to cash in on the transmission defect class action settlement will have to wait a little longer as both parties figure out when official notice of the settlement should be delivered and when Class Members should be allowed to make claims.

In court documents filed last week, BMW of North America and plaintiffs asked the Court to resolve certain disagreements concerning class notice dissemination and claims submission issues that have arisen since the Court preliminarily approved the MINI Cooper class action settlement on August 5. Plaintiffs contend that Class Members should be allowed to start making claims now, while BMW argues that it has 120 days after the preliminary approval order to mail notices of the settlement. The automaker said it doesn’t want to mail notices until it has received updated mailing information for all Settlement Class Members, which could be weeks away.

The class action settlement resolves allegations that BMW installed “shoddy” CVT transmissions in MINI R50 and MINI R52 vehicles that cause problems with acceleration, loss of power and total transmission failure while driving. BMW denies any wrongdoing but agreed to reimburse MINI Cooper owners and lessees for certain repairs or replacements of the transmissions.

Under the settlement agreement, a mailed notice of the MINI Cooper class action settlement with instructions on how to file a claim must be completed within 120 days after the Court preliminarily approves the deal. However, plaintiffs argue that this language does not mean BMW can wait to deliver notices until the 120th day.

The plaintiffs contend that BMW should be required to mail notice of the MINI Cooper settlement now on a rolling basis before the 120-day deadline. They also contend that Class Members should be able to start making claims online now, even if they haven’t received written notice yet. Delaying this claim filing process “is potentially detrimental,” they said.

“Among other things, the parties’ Settlement Agreement requires BMW to make reimbursements to Class Members based on the mileage and age of their vehicles and the time of repair. To that end, as time passes, the monetary amount that BMW must pay to claimants to reimburse them for repairs is reduced,” plaintiffs said.

In addition, many Class Members have limited financial resources and can’t pay for repairs until they know that they are eligible under the class action settlement to receive reimbursement for costs of such repairs. “A delay in providing Class Members with notice and an opportunity to make claims is likely to cause consumers to wait to repair their vehicles until they make a claim, which may, in turn, cause them to receive less in reimbursement under the settlement.”

BMW’s concern, however, is that providing written notice to Class Members on a rolling basis means that the claims submission deadline for the class “will not be uniform” and “is likely to create confusion and unnecessary work.”

“In virtually every class settlement that BMW NA has negotiated and implemented, the printed class notice and settlement website have been published concurrently to ensure that the ‘official’ information on the class settlement reaches all Class Members at the same time,” BMW told the Court.

The language of the settlement agreement mandates a claims submission deadline of 120 days “after the mailing of the class notice.” If notices are mailed at different times, members of the same class will have different claim filing deadlines, BMW argued. To that end, Class Members should not be permitted to submit claims online until all written notices have been mailed. Otherwise, “the likelihood for class confusion and mistake is significant,” BMW said.

Both parties asked the Court to intervene and resolve the pending disputes so that administration of the MINI Cooper class action settlement can “proceed expeditiously.”

Top Class Actions will continue to update our readers on the MINI Cooper Transmission Defect Class Action Settlement, including by providing claim filing instructions once they are announced. Keep checking www.TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free weekly newsletter below.

The case is Aarons v. BMW of North America LLC, Case No. 11-cv-07667, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE : Claim filing instructions are now available! See how to file a claim for the MINI Cooper class action settlement here.

UPDATE 2: A misplaced objection to the MINI Cooper class action settlement has delayed the distribution of funds. Because the objection is similar to other objections already overruled by the judge, it is likely to be overruled as well. We will update readers when more information is available.

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11 thoughts onNotices of MINI Cooper Class Action Settlement Delayed by Disagreements

  1. Top Class Actions says:

    UPDATE: A misplaced objection to the MINI Cooper class action settlement has delayed the distribution of funds. Because the objection is similar to other objections already overruled by the judge, it is likely to be overruled as well. We will update readers when more information is available.

  2. Ray Kiszely says:

    My wife’s Mini was having transmission issues, 2007 with 35,000 miles. After the dealer told her the transmission needed to be replaced at about $6,500 she almost died. She did some research and learned about the class action in California (we live in North Carolina). We went back to dealer to discuss the issue again and they agreed to replace the transmission if we paid the labor. So we had them put in the transmission and paid the labor, about $1800 and filed our paperwork for the class action.
    I guess like others we will now wait for some financial relief from BMW/Mini.
    Does our story sound like your story?
    RayKiszely@hotmail.com

  3. Joe Lopez says:

    So the hearing date was April 28, 2014. Are we settled? if so, when doe we get our money?

    1. Nooo says:

      Esa es la pregunta cuando podemos llevar a reparar nuestros autos
      El mío esta parado esperando a ver q se resuelve alguien puede decirme como investigar más sobre esto

    2. Nooo says:

      Alguien sabe cuando llamarán a reparar los autos

  4. Scott C says:

    My CVT failed at around 90,000 miles and I have found that the best way to get BMW back is to tell everyone what a horrible car the MINI is. I even had a custom bumper sticker made that says never buy a MINI cooper without searching the internet about the transmissions.

  5. Scott says:

    MY CVT Transmissions failed as well and I am waiting to see what happens with this class action lawsuit. I tell everyone that even mentions they like the Mini, what a horrible vehicle it is and to stay away from Mini and BMW. I tell you are better off buying a KIA!

  6. Bob Hill says:

    As this is written, my 56kmile 9year 3 month Mini with failed CVT will be excluded and will sit broken till the end of time.Too nice to junk and can’t be used as intended due to BMW/Mini selling known Faulty Junk Transmissions.BMW needs to be made to fix all of these CVTs regardless of age or mileage.The longer they drag there feet the less they have to pay.I’ll be darned if I ever buy another BMW Junk yard car again!

    1. Steve says:

      Hey Bob. Those of us who didn’t put a ton of miles on our cars are actually being punished by this agreement. Since the transmissions seemed to fail at around 60,000-70,000 (not acceptable in the first place) the people who had them replaced early on, before the 8-year limit, will receive some reimbursement. Those of us who had them replaced later on because we didn’t put as many miles on them, will get nothing. BMW has some answering to do, but they won’t be held accountable. In fact, I’m sure they’ve profitied greatly just because of how many people have had to replace their transmissions but who won’t get a refund. I trying to learn to let this go, to understand that we’re victims of corporate greed (we are, even though it sounds dramatic) but I’m having trouble. The financial implication will be with me for years. There’ s nothing to be done.

  7. John G says:

    This is getting ridiculous! I have a useless car just sitting in my driveway. They better get this resolved soon.

  8. Berni Volkmann says:

    This is taking so long! I only drive my R50 in town now. Don’t want to get stranded on the interstate! Hope things get settled soon!

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