Ford Fuel Tank Defect Class Action Moves Forward with Single Claim

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A four-year-old litigation over an alleged defect in Ford truck fuel tanks will continue for now, but with fewer claims than the plaintiff originally brought.

Following an opinion issued by U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty, the Ford class action lawsuit remains pending over a single claim under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.

Judge McNulty granted summary judgment against the plaintiffs on their other claims for common law fraud, breach of express warranty, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.

Plaintiffs Galo Coba and Coba Landscaping and Construction Inc. filed this Ford class action lawsuit in March 2012.

Coba alleged he had to take his two 2006 Ford F-350 Super Duty trucks in for servicing after they both began to suffer from a lack of power.

The loss of power allegedly resulted from the presence of rust in the fuel system, Coba says. That rust is caused by an epoxy liner inside the fuel tank that gradually corrodes, releasing rust that eventually clogs the fuel system, Coba claims.

Both of Coba’s Ford trucks were under warranty when they began to show symptoms of engine trouble, he says, and Ford replaced the fuel tanks on both trucks at no cost to Coba.

But the replacement tanks also failed, Coba alleges. He says the replacement tanks failed after the warranty on the vehicles expired, leaving him on the hook for thousands of dollars in repairs.

In granting Ford’s motion for summary judgment, Judge McNulty said the alleged defect is not covered by the Ford express warranty because it is a design defect, not a defect in materials or workmanship.

Since Ford was not contractually obligated under its express warranty to deal with the defects, and since Coba showed no bad faith on Ford’s part, his claim for breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing also fails, the judge said.

As for Coba’s claim under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, Judge McNulty deferred a final decision on that issue.

He solicited the parties to submit supplemental briefing relative to that claim, specifically addressing whether or not Ford was under a legal duty to disclose an unwarranted defect.

However, the judge noted that New Jersey common law puts Ford under no such duty to disclose, and for that reason he granted summary judgment for Ford on Coba’s common law fraud claim.

On the same day Ford filed its motion for summary judgment, Coba moved for Class certification.

Judge McNulty denied Coba’s motion as moot, but will leave open the possibility of revisiting the issue if and when appropriate.

Coba’s Ford fuel tank defect class action lawsuit survived an attempt at dismissal in January 2013.

Under the oversight of a different judge, Coba adequately alleged that Ford had deprived him of his proper warranty coverage by failing to resolve the fuel tank problem.

Coba is represented by attorneys Harold Friedman and Joel R. Glucksman of Scarinci Hollenbeck LLC.

The Ford Truck Fuel Tank Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Coba, et al. v. Ford Motor Co., Case No. 2:12-cv-01622, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.