Jeep Window Defect Class Action Lawsuit Certified Despite Sanctions

The proposed Class in the Jeep Liberty window defect class action lawsuit was certified last week, but a California federal judge also granted Chrysler Group LLC’s motion for sanctions against a named plaintiff for selling her Jeep Liberty before filing the class action lawsuit.

Lead plaintiff Steve Doyle initiated the present class action lawsuit against Chrysler in April 2013 alleging that Chrysler designed, manufactured, sold and leased 2002-2007 Jeep Liberties containing defective windows. Doyle and other named plaintiffs who joined the class action lawsuit alleged their replaced window controllers were prone to fail because of a weak plastic window brackets.

A plaintiff who later joined the Jeep class action lawsuit, Robin Allen, alleged that the windows in her Jeep Liberty needed to be screwed shut, which lessened the value of her vehicle when she traded it in. Chrysler argued that Allen destroyed evidence when she sold her Jeep Liberty and therefore is not an adequate representative of the Class. Chrysler also called for sanctions against Allen.

Representatives for Allen argued that she had sold the vehicle before considering or talking to an attorney about her legal options and that she did not intend to destroy evidence when she traded in her Jeep Liberty for a more fuel efficient vehicle. However, Chrysler argued that Allen had corresponded with an attorney prior to trading in her Jeep Liberty and also visited Chrysler’s website devoted to the alleged defect.

In a decision issued last week, U.S. District Judge James V. Selna agreed with Chrysler and issued sanctions for spoliation of evidence against Allen. Judge Selna also agreed that Allen was an “inadequate” Class representative because of the sanction. As a result, said the judge, Class certification for a group of Maryland consumers that Allen sought to represent was denied.

“When one is contemplating making a claim that a vehicle is defective, it takes no special training or particular sophistication to recognize the potential relevance of that vehicle as evidence of one’s claim,” Judge Selna wrote. “Although she and counsel both represent no substantive communication occurred prior to her trading in the vehicle, no bad faith is required in order for the court to impose the least severe evidentiary sanction of instructing a jury that it may make an adverse inference as a result of Allen’s sale of the vehicle,” continued the judge in his order.

Judge Selna explained that since she is the named plaintiff representing the Class of purchasers from Maryland, Allen has to bear the burden of the sanction, and her claims are no longer typical of the proposed Maryland Class.

Judge Selna did decide to certify the California consumers represented by one of the other plaintiffs.

The plaintiffs are represented by class action lawyers from Foley Bezek Behle & Curtis LLP, Goldenberg Schneider LPA and Arias Ozzello and Gignac LLP.

The Jeep Liberty Window Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Steve Doyle, et al. v. Chrysler Group LLC, Case No. 13-cv-00620, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.