Jeep 4WD Defect Class Action Should Be Dismissed, FCA Says

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FCA US LLC has asked a judge to dismiss a class action lawsuit accusing Fiat Chrysler of botching the fix of 300,000 Jeep Grand Cherokees and Commanders that were recalled because they were allegedly prone to shifting into neutral without any action from the driver.

FCA asserts that the plaintiffs failed to “meet the very basic pleading standard” and left out important details about the allegedly botched recall fix.

The company also filed a separate motion asking the court to transfer the Jeep class action lawsuit to a New York federal bankruptcy court since the vehicles named in the action were manufactured by Chrysler LLC, which is now defunct.

FCA argues that it was “merely fulfilling obligations imposed by the Safety Act as required by a ‘Sale Order’ issued by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York,” and that the sale order bars civil claims against FCA that are based on a defect in a vehicle FCA did not manufacture.

In one of the motions filed Friday, FCA requested that the case be transferred to the bankruptcy court so that the sale order can be interpreted and enforced as was intended.

According to the Jeep class action lawsuit, which was filed last month by plaintiffs Lynn Grimstad and Mara Manuel, Fiat Chrysler issued a recall in July 2013 in response to reports that some Jeeps rolled away while they were parked. This issue was allegedly caused by a neutral slip issue related to a circuit board that was prone to fracture because of a hardware defect.

The plaintiffs claim that Fiat Chryslers’ July 2013 recall fixed the hardware issue, but in the process caused a separate issue that disabled the vehicles’ four-wheel drive capability. According to the Jeep class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs paid more for the four-wheel drive feature but now the new defect prevents them from selling the vehicles for what they should be worth.

FCA asserts that the plaintiffs failed to provide sufficient details about their experience with the recall fix, including where and when the repairs took place. FCA also says the plaintiffs failed to claim that their vehicles were even subject to the July 2013 recall.

“The pleading of these facts is not a mere formality, but, rather, is necessary to give FCA US ‘fair notice’ of what plaintiffs’ claims are about,” Fiat argues in its motion to dismiss the Jeep class action lawsuit. “This is particularly true here where FCA US can find no records indicating that plaintiff Grimstad ever owned a Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicle, and the very minimal records it has been able to locate for plaintiff Manuel show no signs of her vehicle ever losing any function.”

The plaintiffs are represented by Anthony O. Egbase and Victor T. Orafa of A.O.E. Law & Associates.

The Jeep 4WD Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Grimstad, et al. v. FCA US LLC, Case No. 8:16-cv-00763, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: On July 1, 2016, plaintiffs requested class certification from a California federal judge in a lawsuit alleging that Fiat Chrysler botched repairs on its recalled vehicles.

UPDATE 2: On May 3, 2018, two plaintiffs are asking a California federal judge to reject a bid by FCA US LLC to dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging a purported “fix” for Jeeps that reportedly rolled away while parked actually created a new defect, reduced the functionality of the vehicles and reduced their value.