Subaru Supports Settlement In Oil Burning Class Action Lawsuit

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In a class action lawsuit alleging that an engine defect causes Subaru model automobiles to excessively burn oil, the defendant Subaru of America Inc. told the court it supported the proposed settlement agreement, but would not admit fault.

Lead plaintiffs Keith Yeager and Michael Schuler alleged in their original Subaru class action lawsuit filed in 2014 that the car manufacturer knew that defective piston rings in certain Subaru models caused extra oil to burn off the engine but failed to inform consumers about the defect, and that deception caused car owners to spend “considerable money on extra engine oil, but also on engine repairs trying to fix the underlying problem.” The plaintiffs also claimed that Subaru improperly denied their warranty claims related to the defect.

Early this year, the parties filed a proposed Subaru class action settlement agreement to end the lawsuit. Under the terms of the agreement, Subaru will increase the warranty on vehicles with the defect from the original 5-year / 60,000-mile warranty, to an 8-year / 100,000-mile warranty.

According to court documents, Subaru also agreed to compensate vehicle owners for repairs, rental cars, towing, and oil with reasonable proof of expense. In addition, Subaru agreed to provide a free “oil consumption test” as well as “TSB repairs” for any owners or leasers of defective vehicles. Subaru will also pay $1.5 million in attorneys’ fees and costs as well as $3,500 in incentive awards to each plaintiff.

Last week, Subaru and automobile manufacturer Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. submitted a document to the court that indicated the parties did not oppose the terms of the proposed settlement. Subaru and Fuji reiterated that they still doubted the merits of the class action lawsuit claims as indicated in their last motion to dismiss the action.

“Defendants continue to have confidence in the merits of that motion,” Subaru said to the court, “and further expect to prevail on the merits of the remaining claims if this matter is not resolved by the settlement.”

Subaru and Fuji also expressed doubt that the class could be certified if contested because of issues with manageability, among other things.

According to the documents filed with the court last week, Subaru and Fuji were more concerned with issues of time, expense and risk of litigation than with the merits of the oil burning class action lawsuit.

For their part, the Subaru defect class action lawsuit plaintiffs have stated that the settlement will provide the most compensation to the highest number of proposed Class Members than if the class action lawsuit went to trial.

Details on the Subaru oil burning class action lawsuit settlement claim filing process were not immediately available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.

The plaintiffs are represented by Matthew D. Schelkopf and Jospeh G. Sauder of Chimicles & Tikellis LLP, Eric H. Gibbs, Dylan Hughes, and David Stein of Girard Gibbs LLP, and Richard D. McCune, Jae K. Kim, and Michele M. Vercoski of McCune Wright, LLP.

The Subaru Oil Burning Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Yaeger, et al. v. Subaru of America Inc., et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-04490, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

UPDATE: On Apr. 12, 2016, the Subaru oil burning settlement is now open! Click here to file a Claim Form or visit www.OilConsumption.SettlementClass.com for details.