Couple Seeks To Lift Stay in Fiat Remote Hacking Class Action

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A Missouri couple embroiled in a larger legal battle with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) over allegations the automaker knew the uConnect systems installed in their vehicles were vulnerable to hacking are now asking an Illinois federal judge to lift a discretionary stay imposed in the case.

Plaintiffs George and Kelly Brown told U.S. District Court Judge Donald Wilkerson that they have opted to not pursue their warranty claims against Fiat Chrysler in arbitration, voluntarily dismissing their claims against the automaker.

This would allow the couple to proceed with the litigation of their warranty claims against Harman International Industries under the Federal Arbitration Act, the motion to dismiss the stay states.

“As a result of the Browns’ decision to not pursue their warranty claims against FCA in arbitration and their voluntary dismissal of their warranty claims against FCA, there are no longer any claims in this action that will be submitted to arbitration, and therefore, no claims to be stayed pursuant to the Federal Arbitration Act,” the Browns’ motion reads.

This move follows the court’s decision in September to trim down the claims in the larger class action lawsuit against FCA brought by plaintiffs Brian Flynn and Michael Keith.

Ruling the plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue damages based on potential future injury from a possible car hacking, the claims for theories of warranty, fraud, and negligence were dismissed but the remainder of the claims were allowed to proceed against Fiat Chrysler and Harman International on grounds the plaintiffs overpaid for their vehicles which have depreciated in value due to hacking vulnerability of the uConnect system.

The drivers originally filed the class action complaint asserting claims against Fiat Chrysler and Harman International Industries in August 2015 after an article published in Wired Magazine detailed that hackers could reach across the internet, and exploit software vulnerabilities to interfere with hardware and machinery in Jeep vehicles.

Specifically, two security researchers demonstrated that they could remotely control a moving Jeep Cherokee brakes and engine from a laptop miles away without permission via uConnect.

Since Wired first reported on the hacking demonstration in July 2015, Fiat Chrysler has recalled 1.4 million Jeeps to receive emergency software patches for the uConnect hacking vulnerability.

But the Jeep owners assert that the emergency patch and recall does not excuse FCA and Harman for knowingly selling defective vehicles to customers for several months after they were first made aware of the vulnerability in 2014.

According to the plaintiffs, Harman and FCA breached implied warranty of merchantability under Missouri law and violated the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

In July, FCA successfully motioned to stay the proceedings and compel the Browns to submit their warranty claims to arbitration.

The Browns are represented by Christopher D. Baucom, Jay Palansky, Lucas T. Pendry, Emily Buckley and Stephen R. Wigginton of Armstrong Teasdale LLP, and Christopher F. Cueto, Lloyd M. Cueto and Michael J. Gras of the Law Office of Christopher Cueto Ltd.

The Fiat Chrysler uConnect Hacking Class Action Lawsuit is Flynn, et al. v. FCA US LLC, et al., Case No. 3:15-cv-00855, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois.

UPDATE: On Oct. 13, 2017, the plaintiffs asked an Illinois federal judge to grant Class certification to a putative class action lawsuit that alleges some Fiat Chrysler vehicles are vulnerable to hacking.

UPDATE 2: On July 5, 2018, a judge agreed to certify Class Members from the states of Illinois, Michigan, and Missouri. The proposed nationwide Class was too “unwieldy,” stated the judge in his order.

UPDATE 3: On Dec. 11, 2018, the defendants in a Fiat Chrysler class action lawsuit over claims that Jeep Cherokees are vulnerable to being hacked now argue that thousands of Jeep drivers should not have been certified as a Class.