GM Wants Chevy Traverse Airbag Defect Class Action Lawsuit Dismissed

A motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit alleging defective airbags and warning lights in the Chevy Traverse was filed by General Motors LLC last week.

On August 1, General Motors argued that the class action lawsuit is moot because, several days after the Chevy Traverse lawsuit was filed, the company issued a recall of the defective automobiles. Florida resident Joni Precht filed the class action lawsuit in March alleging that the Chevy Traverse she purchased in 2011 contained a defective airbag warning light that turned on repeatedly. The class action lawsuit alleged that General Motors technicians told her that the defective air bag light did not mean the air bag itself was malfunctioning.

In their filing to dismiss the Chevy Traverse class action lawsuit, General Motors said “Plaintiff also acknowledges in the Complaint that in March of this year GM issued a safety recall which includes Plaintiff’s vehicle (and all putative class members’ vehicles) that addresses the defect for which she sues GM.” General Motors argued that the March recall “addresses at no cost to plaintiff the very problem which she complains of in the lawsuit.”

“Accordingly,” continued General Motors, “all the claims are moot since there is no basis for plaintiff, or any putative class member for that matter, to seek judicial redress.” General Motors pointed out that the recall in March included 1.18 million automobiles whose airbags might no deploy during a crash. General Motors also argued that the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration who supervises recalls should take precedence over the Chevy Traverse class action lawsuit. “[A]ll of Plaintiff’s claims are moot since the announced recall,” General Motors argued, “which is overseen by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (‘NHTSA’).” Finally, General Motors also pointed out that both the lead plaintiff and the purported class would receive a double recovery if the court allowed the Chevy Traverse class action lawsuit to proceed.

The plaintiff had argued in an amended complaint that the recall of the defective vehicles may not apply to the class action lawsuit because the recall did not address all of the problems with the Chevy Traverse.

Alternatively, General Motors argued that the Chevy Traverse class action lawsuit should be dismissed because the lead plaintiff’s warranty only covered her automobile for 36,000 miles, while the alleged defect was only addressed at 65,000 and 75,000 miles. Additionally, General Motors argued that because the lead plaintiff did not argue any monetary damages, the case should be dismissed. “Although Plaintiff alleges that the indicator light began illuminating and ceased illuminating on several other occasions after 65,000 miles, Plaintiff does not allege that she ever paid for any repair of the condition” General Motors points out in the filing.

Lead plaintiff, Joni Precht, is represented by Jon Herskowitz of Baron & Herskowitz and Charles LaDuca and Willian Anderson of Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca LLP.

The Chevrolet Traverse Airbag Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Joni Precht v. General Motors Corp., Case No. 1:14-cv-20971, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.