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Those whose off-road vehicles didn’t catch fire cannot be a part of the Polaris engine defect class action lawsuit, according to a recent ruling by a federal court judge.
Though the plaintiffs alleged that their off-road vehicles reached very high temperatures due to an engine defect, they did not claim that they had caught on fire.
According to a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright, since overheating is common in off-road vehicles, these “No-Fire” plaintiffs did not establish that they had suffered any damages due to the defect.
“The No-Fire Plaintiffs allege that they purchased vehicles from a product line that contains a defect and that their vehicles exhibit the defect,” noted the judge’s order. “But the No-Fire Plaintiffs do not allege any fact as to how that defect manifests in their respective cases. Thus, the No-Fire Plaintiffs’ allegations do not establish standing.”
In addition to finding that, because off-road vehicles are prone to overheating and the plaintiffs whose Polaris ORVs had not yet caught fire had no claim for damages, the judge also trimmed breach of warranty and fraud allegations under Texas, South Dakota, and Pennsylvania laws.
The class action lawsuit, lodged in 2018, claimed that certain Polaris off-road vehicles are prone to overheating and can even ignite due to a defect in the vehicles’ “unusually high powered ‘ProStar’ engine.” The original class action lawsuit was later consolidated into multidistrict litigation.
According to the Polaris engine defect class action lawsuit, a dozen models of the company’s off-road vehicles suffer from the engine defect. The affected off-road vehicles allegedly include 2011 through 2018 models which are equipped with a ProStar engine.
Polaris allegedly recalled each of the models with a ProStar engine due to fire hazards. Additionally, the plaintiffs note that more than 250 fires related to the Polaris engine defect were reported, along with 30 severe injuries and three deaths.
In 2018, Polaris agreed to pay a $27.25 million penalty as a part of a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission case alleging that it failed to inform the agency about the fire hazard presented by its off-road vehicles.
Did you purchase one of the recalled off-road vehicles? Did you experience overheating or a fire? Share your experiences in the comment section below.
The plaintiffs are represented by Karl L. Cambronne, Bryan L. Bleichner and Jeffrey D. Bores of Chestnut Cambronne PA, Adam J. Levitt, John E. Tangren and Daniel R. Ferri of DiCello Levitt Gutzler LLC, W. Daniel Miles III and H. Clay Barnett III of Beasley Allen Crow Methvin Portis & Miles PC, Roland K. Tellis and David Fernandes of Baron & Budd PC, Kirk J. Wolden and Clifford L. Carter of Carter Wolden Curtis LLP, Courtney L. Davenport of The Davenport Law Firm LLC and Charles E. Schaffer and Daniel C. Levin of Levin Sedran & Berman LLP.
The Polaris Engine Defect Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Polaris Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, Case No. 0:18-cv-00939, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.
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One thought on Judge trims Polaris engine defect class action
How can I join the lawsuit? I have a new 2022 RZR and I can’t use it out of fear and because of orders from Polaris.