MINI Cooper Class Action Lawsuit Settlement

BMW of North America LLC has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit over allegations that it failed to disclose that certain MINI Cooper vehicles had transmission defects. If you have leased or owned a 2002-2006 MINI Hardtop or 2005-2008 MINI Convertible, you may be entitled to recover thousands of dollars or a reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses you incurred for replacing or repairing the transmission.

This MINI Cooper settlement will resolve three class action lawsuits (Aarons v. BMW of North America LLC, Bourne-Miller v. BMW of North America LLC, and Bonomo v. BMW of North America LLC) that allege BMW engaged in unfair and deceptive conduct, was unjustly enriched, and breached express and implied warranties by failing to disclose that certain MINI vehicles equipped with Continuously Variable Automatic Transmissions (“CVT”) are defective and subject to premature transmission failure.

BMW denies the allegations but has agreed to provide refunds to consumers under a class action settlement that was preliminarily approved on Aug. 5, 2013.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members of the MINI Cooper settlement include all current and former owners and lessees within the United States of the following vehicles equipped with a CVT:

• 2002 through 2006 model year MINI Cooper (R50) (produced June 11, 2001 through Nov. 28, 2006); and
• 2005 through 2008 model year MINI Convertible (R52) (produced March 6, 2004 through July 31, 2008).

Potential Award

Class Members may be eligible for reimbursement of qualified out-of-pocket expenses incurred when replacing or repairing a CVT at an authorized MINI or BMW dealership or a third-party repair facility. The amount will be based on the time and mileage at the time of each repair/replacement.

Under the terms of the class action settlement, Class Members who had the CVT repaired or replaced at a MINI or BMW dealership will have a 3 year/500,000 mile parts warranty, inclusive of labor, from the date/mileage of the repair/replacement.

Class Members who sold their vehicle for $4,000 or less without repairing the CVT may be eligible to receive between $1,000 and $2,000.

Proof of Purchase

The only way to receive payment from the MINI Cooper class action settlement is to submit a Claim Form and required documentation online or by mail postmarked no later than April 2, 2014.

Address to submit a claim form (REQUIRED):

Aarons v. BMW of North America LLC
Claims Administrator
P.O. Box 43192
Providence, RI 02940-3912

Claims must be postmarked by: 4/2/14

Claim Form

Claim Form Deadline

4/2/2014

Case Name

Aarons, et al. v. BMW of North America LLC, Case No. 2:11-cv-07667-PSG-CW, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

Final Hearing

4/28/2014

Settlement Website

www.MiniCVTSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Aarons v. BMW of North America, LLC
P.O. Box 43192
Providence, RI 02940-3192

Class Counsel

HARKE CLASBY & BUSHMAN LLP
ASTIAGARRAGA DAVIS MULLINS & GROSSMAN PA
LAWRANCE A. CAPLAN PA
BLOOD HURST & O’REARDON LLP
BARON & BUDD PC
SEEGER WEISS LLP
WASSERMAN COMDEN CASSELMAN & ESENSTEN LLP
MAZIE SLATER KATZ & FREEMAN LLC
STRATEGIC LEGAL PRACTICES APC
CAPSTONE LAW APC
INITIATIVE LEGAL GROUP APC

Defense Counsel

Eric Y. Kizirian Esq.
LEWIS BRISBOIS BISGAARD & SMITH LLP

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.