Mercedes­-Benz Must Face Moldy HVAC Class Action Lawsuit

UPDATE 3: On Dec. 26, 2020, Top Class Actions viewers started receiving settlement checks from the Mercedes HVAC class action settlement worth as much as $300. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID!

UPDATE 2: January 2020, the Mercedes HVAC class action settlement website is live. Click here for more information. 

UPDATE: On Dec. 20, 2019, a settlement agreement was reached that will resolve three Mercedes class action lawsuits alleging the heating, venting, and air conditioning system in 2.5 million vehicles is prone to smelling moldy.

A Georgia federal judge recently denied Mercedes-Benz’s motion to dismiss a class action which alleged that the vehicles’ air systems smell moldy.

U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg uniformly denied Daimler AG’s motion to dismiss, finding that the parent company of Mercedes-Benz USA LLC failed to argue that plaintiff claims were not specific enough.

“For the plaintiffs, good fortune bestowed upon them the opportunity to purchase a Mercedes­-Benz automobile. However, as the reader will soon discover, the blissful relationship between these plaintiffs and their respective Mercedes­-Benz vehicles did not last,” Judge Totenberg wrote in her 46-page opinion. “Rather, the relationship grew acrimonious due to an interloping third party hidden deep inside the vehicle’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system [‘HVAC System’] — mold.”

In their motion to dismiss, Daimler claimed that plaintiffs wrongly linked the company with Mercedes-Benz when the two are separate entities. Judge Totenberg rejected this argument, finding that since Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz are agents of each other, each company’s claims or warranties are reasonably “conferred” or “imputed” onto the other.

Judge Totenberg concluded that the plaintiffs’ Mercedes class action was logical enough and brought sufficient allegations to transfer Mercedes-Benz’ actions onto Daimler for the purpose of expressed warranty, vehicle repair, and servicing.

The Mercedes-Benz class action lawsuit was filed in May 2017, alleging that the ventilation system, which was installed in vehicles from model years 1999 to 2017, contained a “serious design defect” resulting in the buildup of mildew or mold.

According to plaintiffs Sunil Amin and Trushar Patel, the build-up creates an “unbearable” moldy or mildew odor which fills the vehicle when the heat or air conditioning is turned on. The air can reportedly cause “respiratory problems and aggravate allergies” due to the mold content.

The plaintiffs in the Mercedes-Benz class action alleged that the companies failed to adequately address the issue when consumers complained or attempted to seek repairs through warranty claims.

The auto dealer attempts to remedy the mold issue by cleaning the HVAC system and installing a new air filter, but plaintiffs Amin and Patel claim that this fix is only temporary and that the defect will result in more mold in the future.

In their Mercedes-Benz class action lawsuit, Amin and Patel brought claims under Georgia consumer protection laws, breach of warranty, breach of implied warranty of merchantability, fraud by concealment, and unjust enrichment.

Some of these claims were trimmed by Judge Totenberg in March 2018. She dismissed breach of warranty claims and allegations that consumers would suffer from future harm due to the defect. However, other claims brought by plaintiffs were allowed to move forward.

The drivers and proposed Class are represented by Ketan A. Patel of Corpus Law Patel LLC, and Annika K. Martin, Abbye R. Klamann, Jonathan D. Selbin and John T. Spragens of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP.

The Mercedes-Benz Moldy HVAC Class Action Lawsuit is Amin, et al. v. Mercedes-­Benz USA LLC, et al., Case No. 1:17­-cv-­01701, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.