Fiat Chrysler Owners Want Gearshift Defect Class Action Certified

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Lead plaintiffs in a Fiat Chrysler electronic gearshift defect class action lawsuit say that their proposed Class of vehicle owners and lessees should be certified.

The FCA class action lawsuit alleges that certain vehicles manufactured by Fiat Chrysler, including the 2012-­2014 Dodge Charger, 2012-2014 Chrysler 300, and the 2014­-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, contain a defective electronic gearshift.

At issue are the “monostable” gearshifts in the affected vehicles that the plaintiffs say can slip out of gear unexpectedly.

The Fiat Chrysler gearshift defect class action lawsuit seeks to represent consumers across a number of states, including California, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Washington, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, Texas and Utah.

There are several different proposed Classes based on different state laws. Claims lodged against Fiat Chrysler include deceptive conduct, unjust enrichment, breach of implied warranty, fraud by omission, fraudulent concealment, and unconscionable acts.

“Class certification is warranted because the salient legal and factual questions will be resolved with proof common to all plaintiffs and the members of each class,” states the plaintiffs’ motion for Class certification.

“Class vehicles suffer a unifying design defect, the vehicles were subject to common recall notices, FCA was aware of the alleged defect at the time the vehicles were sold, FCA had a duty to disclose its knowledge but failed to do so, and the facts disclosed by FCA were material.”

Fiat Chrysler was hit with a number of class action lawsuits after it recalled more than 1 million vehicles in 2016. The car maker cited consumer reports of vehicles rolling away despite being in “park.” The recall reportedly affected both full sized cars and SUVs.

According to the FCA class action lawsuit, more than 300 reports of roll away vehicles attributed to the Fiat electronic gear shift defect were reported to federal regulators. Thirty people were allegedly injured in these roll aways.

The class action lawsuits over the alleged Fiat electronic gearshift defect were consolidated into multidistrict litigation (MDL). The MDL involves plaintiffs from 18 different states.

Fiat Chrysler attempted to dodge the class action lawsuit in 2017 by filing three motions to dismiss. In them, the car company argued that the lead plaintiffs failed to show how they had been injured by the alleged defect.

In order to certify their proposed Classes, the plaintiffs suggest a number of strategies for hearing the claims, including using a few test cases as “bellwether” trials to get a sense of the extent of the litigation.

The plaintiffs are represented by E. Powell Miller and Sharon S. Almonrode of The Miller Law Firm PC; Joseph H. Meltzer, Peter A. Muhic and Tyler S. Graden of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP; Steve W. Berman, Sean R. Matt and Christopher R. Pitoun of Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP; Daniel E. Gustafson, Jason S. Kilene, David A. Goodwin and Raina C. Borrelli of Gustafson Gluek PLLC; Robert K. Shelquist and Rebecca A. Peterson of Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP; Gregory F. Coleman, Lisa A. White, Mark E. Silvey and Adam E. Edwards of Greg Coleman Law PC; and David Honigman, Douglas Toering and Gerard V. Mantese of Mantese Honigman PC.

The Fiat Electronic Gearshift Defect Class Action Lawsuit is In re: FCA US LLC Monostable Electronic Gearshift Litigation, Case No. 2:16-md-02744, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

UPDATE: On Feb. 12, 2019, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles asked a Michigan federal judge to eliminate some claims from a class action lawsuit filed by drivers who say that Jeep Grand Cherokees and other vehicles have faulty gear shifts.

UPDATE 2: On Dec. 9, 2019, drivers who claimed that they paid too much for Fiat Chrysler vehicles with defective gearshifts will receive partial Class certification in their gearshift multidistrict litigation.