Judge declines to certify Utah class in Stellantis defective gearshifts MDL

Update:

• A Michigan federal judge declined to certify a class of Utah drivers who filed a class action lawsuit alleging Fiat Chrysler Automobiles sold vehicles with faulty gear shifts.
• On Oct. 10, U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson ruled a class action lawsuit filed by plaintiff Trevor Marbles contains too many individualized questions to grant class certification, including whether each of the drivers noticed issues in the vehicles but purchased or leased them anyway.
• The multidistrict litigation goes back to at least 2017. Plaintiffs in 19 states alleged FCA manufactured an alleged faulty electronic gearshift system that could cause certain vehicles to roll away if they were not put in park before the driver exited the vehicle.
• In 2022, a Michigan federal jury found no design defect under the laws in all but one of the 19 states involved — Utah. Marbles filed the request for certification of a Utah class soon after.

Fiat Chrysler faulty gear shift class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: A group of consumers are suing Fiat Chrysler. 
• Why: The drivers say the company sold vehicles with faulty gearshifts.
• Where: The class action is being heard in a Michigan federal court.

(Jan. 7, 2022)

Auto manufacturer Fiat Chrysler Automobiles can’t shake a class action lawsuit alleging it sold vehicles with faulty gear shifts, a Michigan federal judge has ruled.

On Dec. 2, U.S. District Court Judge David M. Lawson shot down Fiat Chrysler’s attempts to decertify the class action lawsuit lodged against it, saying the automaker had not proven there was new information available that made decertifying an option.

Judge Lawson said in his opinion that the new counsel for the defendant filed a motion to decertify the class on May 18, 2020. 

However, while the court has the authority to reconsider class certification decisions as the litigation proceeds, a party seeking decertification must submit some new information that justifies revisiting the certification decision, the judge said. 

“The defendant has not done so here. Instead, it submits an argument that could have been raised during the original motion briefing… and cites a court of appeals decision that does not address class certification in multidistrict litigation or otherwise,” Judge Lawson said. “The motion, therefore, is more properly characterized as a motion for reconsideration, and as such, it is untimely. And because the motion also lacks merit, it will be denied.” 

Fiat also hit with class actions after recalling more than 1M vehicles in 2016

Fiat Chrysler was first 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 rollaways.

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.

According to the drivers, Fiat Chrysler of America knew that the gearshifts were defective and knowingly concealed this information from consumers. Allegedly, had they had all of the information, the affected drivers might not have purchased the affected vehicles. 

The vehicles at issue in the gearshift multidistrict litigation are the 2012-2014 Dodge Charger, the 2012-2014 Chrysler 300 and the 2014-2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which are equipped with a monostable shifter. Around 800,000 vehicles possess the gear shifter at issue.

Have you experienced the Fiat Chrysler gear shift problem? Share your experiences in the comment section below.

The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys with the Miller Law Firm PC, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP, Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, Gustafson Gluek PLLC, Lockridge Grindal Nauen PLLP, Greg Coleman Law PC and 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.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• Nissan announces recall due to rearview camera defect
• Honda announces recall for 1.6M+ vehicles due to potential steering defect
• Porsche initiates recall for Taycans due to battery defect
• Stellantis issues recall for Ram 1500s due to turn signal defect