Honda Defective Transmission Class Action Lawsuit Moves Forward After Appeals Court Reverses Decision

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Honda Transmission Class Action Lawsuit Overview: 

• Who: The United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit reversed a lower court’s decision that excluded expert testimony from a decision in Honda’s favor.
• Why: The judge says the decision was “erroneous.”
• Where: The reversal occurred United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

The United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has reversed a decision in favor of Honda in a lawsuit alleging that the automaker sold defective transmissions in its vehicles.

The case is now remanded back to the district court.

The 9th Circuit says the lower court abused its discretion by excluding expert testimony from an economist and statistician. It said survey analysis because it lacked “substantive probity,” but that decision was erroneous, the panel says.

“While the district court must act as a gatekeeper to exclude junk science that does not meet reliability standards, the test [according to precedent] is not the correctness of the expert’s conclusions, but the soundness of his methodology,” the panel says.

Class Action Claims Honda Odyssey Vehicles Would Shake, Shudder When Accelerated Into Higher Gears

The appellants sued American Honda Motor Co., Inc. on behalf of a putative class alleging a transmission defect in certain Honda Odyssey minivan models. They claimed transmissions in the Honda Odyssey, model years 2011 to 2016, were subject to severe shaking and shuddering when the vehicle would accelerate into second, third and fourth gear, according to Law 360. As a result, drivers noticed that when they pushed on the gas pedal, the vehicle would hesitate before accelerating. This caused an increased likelihood of a crash.

The expert testimony, issued in 2019, says the Odysseys become “less desirable” to consumers when the transmission defect is disclosed, Law 360 reports. It estimated a median economic loss per driver of about $3,041. Assuming Honda sold about 475,000 of these vehicles with the defect, the total classwide damages are more than $1.6 billion.

Honda is also awaiting final approval to a $33 million Honda class action settlement that will resolve claims that Honda sold vehicles with defective infotainment systems.

Do you agree with the appeals court’s decision? Let us know in the comments! 

The drivers were represented by Gary E. Mason of Mason Lietz and Klinger LLP, Peretz Bronstein and Shimon Yiftach of Bronstein Gewirtz & Grossman and Jeffrey L. Osterwise and Lawrence Deutsch of Berger and Montague PC.

Honda was represented by Livia M. Kiser, Anne M. Voigts and Michael B. Shortnacy of King & Spalding LLP.

The Honda Defective Transmission Class Action Lawsuit is Dennis MacDougall, et al. v. American Honda Motor Co. Inc., Case No. 20-56060, in the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

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