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A California federal judge has found that a man who leased a BMW Z4 coupe has satisfactorily pleaded several claims regarding the German automaker’s manufacturing practices and breaches of warranties in a defective wheel class action lawsuit, although he demurred on alleged violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act.
Plaintiff Barry Jekowsky alleges in the class action lawsuit that he leased a BMW Z4 coupe in February 2011 with original equipment manufacturer (OEM) alloy wheels. The wheels reportedly began cracking within the first 10,000 miles of driving the vehicle, and the man’s class action lawsuit alleges the automaker should have repaired them during the four year/50,000 mile warranty period, but did not do so.
Judge Jeffrey White ruled Dec. 13 that he will allow the implied warranty claim to proceed based on several state court decisions indicating that a plaintiff doesn’t need to demonstrate that a manufacturing defect did occur during the warranty period as long as it is plausible that it could have occurred during that period.
More importantly, the judge cited a case that noted: “a vehicle that operates for some time after purchase may still be deemed ‘unfit for ordinary purposes’ if its components are so defective that the vehicle becomes inoperable within an unacceptably short period of time.”
Since Jekowsky alleges that the cracked BMW alloy wheels were the result of a manufacturing defect, he has adequately pleaded a breach of express warranty. While Judge White noted that the wheel problem could be a result of an incorrect metal alloy, that is a question of fact to be decided at trial, he said.
However, violations of the Unfair Competition Law and Consumers Legal Remedies Act require that a consumer would rely on representations made by the German automaker about the BMW Z4. Put simply, Jekowsky would need to plead that he would have acted differently if BMW had made him aware of issues regarding the cracked wheels, which was not sufficiently pleaded in the amended complaint. If he wishes to do so, Judge White has dismissed those claims with leave to amend by Jan. 10, 2014
The plaintiffs are represented by class action lawyers Mark A. Chavez of Chavez & Gertler LLP and Bryan Kemnitzer of Kemnitzer Barron & Krieg LLP.
The BMW Alloy Wheel Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Barry Jekowsky v. BMW of North America LLC, Case No. 13-cv-02158, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.
3 thoughts onMajority of BMW Alloy Wheel Class Action Lawsuit Can Proceed
I presently have and previously owned two other BMWs and all had at one time or the other had cracked rims which cost me a great deal of money for tires and rims. In order to receive compensation for my losses, I need to file a suit against BMW. How do I undertake this task.
same problem for my Z4 Just bought it with 19,000 miles on it, two weeks ago. Left rear low pressure light goes on two days in a row. Today dealer service rep says you need to replace the LR wheel and the RR wheel is cracking….so two wheels and two new run flat tires….$2,300.00
cannot buy off Tire Rack as that will be a total mis match to the car…and voids the warranty that they will apparently not honor anyways….still love the car. Wife says “sell it now!”
:( Warren J. Klaus Milwaukee
I purchased my 2011 Z4 in August of 2013. It was previously owned by the CEO of Grayson BMW of Knoxville, TN. The owner “Danny” had ordered the car with the M-package and 19″ alloy wheels. Shortly after I purchased the Z4, the lower air pressure light began to activate requiring us to take the vehicle to the dealership . The trips for the low air pressure became more frequent to the point where the warning light would activate just after leaving the dealership. Finally the service manager took the vehicle into the shop and found two cracks on the left rear and one crack on the right rear wheel. The service rep. stated that the wheels were not BMW wheels but were after market wheels. (How could after market wheels get on this new vehicle?). I need some guidance on this issue before next week. I feel that we will be offered OEM replacement wheels and would have to pay the larger portion of the replacement cost.