Chrysler Wants Dodge Ram Steering Defect Class Action Dismissed

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Late last week, Chrysler filed another motion to dismiss all the claims in the second amended complaint from the class action accusing the company of steering defects in its Dodge Ram model trucks that cause divers to lose steering control and the vehicles to wobble.

The defendant, Chrysler Group LLC, argued that the warranties attached to the Doge Rams did not promise there were no defects in the vehicles. Chrysler also provided arguments to dismiss all of the plaintiffs’ other 11 claims in its motion to dismiss the Dodge Ram class action lawsuit. Chrysler claims that the second amended complaint filed by the plaintiffs is deficient because the plaintiffs allege breaches of express warranty for problems with their vehicles that occurred after the warranties expired.

“Plaintiffs’ express warranty claims are premised on the mistaken notion that Chrysler Group promised that their vehicles were free from defects,” said the defendants in their motion to dismiss the Dodge Ram class action lawsuit. The warranty “does nothing other than extend Chrysler Group’s obligation to ‘pay the cost of all parts and labor needed to repair any item’ during the warranty’s time-mileage durational limits,” Chrysler continued. “Indeed, courts recognize that a promise to repair actually acts as a warning that the product at issue may fail.” Further, argues Chrysler, the plaintiffs do not claim that Chrysler refused repairs they asked for before the warranty expired.

Chrysler also argues that the plaintiffs’ claim of breach of implied warranty should be dimissed. Chrysler claims that it has issued recalls providing reimbursement to owners who have already paid to repair the alleged defect. Also, according to the motion to dismiss, the express warranty should negate any implied warranty. As such, Chrysler argues that if the plaintiffs’ claims of breach of expressed or implied warranty claims, their claims under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act should also fail.

Chrysler also argued that the plaintiffs’ claims the Chrysler committed consumer fraud are too vague to establish a viable allegation; These claims stem from broad statements Chrysler issued on its website about the safety of its vehicles and should be considered corporate puffery, argues Chrysler.

“[T]he second amended complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted,” Chrysler concluded.

Four lead plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit against Chrysler in California federal court this past April. The plaintiffs alleged a defect in Chrysler’s 2008 to 2012 Dodge Ram vehicles, allegedly faulty tie-rod ball studs in the vehicle’s steering system. In their second amended complaint the plaintiffs alleged that certain Dodge Ram vehicles have defective tie-rods, which the plaintiffs claim are a “crucial link” in the vehicle’s steering system.

The Dodge Ram class action lawsuit alleges that defective tie rods can cause the vehicles to shake violently and/or result in extreme front-end vibrations the plaintiffs call a “death wobble.” Death wobbles start when one tire hits a groove or a bump in the road that can only be controlled by bringing the vehicle to a stop, say the plaintiffs. The class action lawsuit alleges that the tie-rod ball studs in the defective Dodge Ram models are too weak to withstand normal use.

The plaintiffs are represented by class action lawsuit attorneys Steven L. Marchbanks of Premier Legal Center APC and by Robert G. Loewy of the Law Office of Robert G. Loewy PC.

The Dodge Ram Steering Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Shaun Sater, et al. v. Chrysler Group LLC, Case No. 14-cv-00700, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: The California Dodge Ram steering defect class action settlement is now open. Click here for information.