Judge Won’t Toss Graco Car Seat Class Action Lawsuit

On Dec. 17, the presiding California federal judge refused to toss a proposed Graco car seat class action lawsuit, ruling that a product recall and subsequent refund offer by manufacturer Graco Children’s Products Inc. does not prevent plaintiffs from pursuing various consumer claims regarding the allegedly defective belt buckles.

Graco’s motion to dismiss the car seat class action lawsuit was denied by U.S. District Judge James Donato after finding the plaintiff Seth Long’s claims could move forward with future litigation. Long’s allegations in the Graco class action lawsuit include violations of California Consumers Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition law, and claims of breach of implied warranty under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act and Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

The Graco car seat class action lawsuit was originally filed in March 2013 by Long, alleging, “the harness buckles were unduly difficult and at times impossible to unlatch, but that Graco concealed the problem and affirmatively advertised the car seats as having a harness that ‘helps you get baby in and out.’” In response to this class action lawsuit and other consumer complaints, Graco issued a car seat recall in February of this year.

This Graco car seat recall resulted in over 3.7 million forward-facing toddler car seats with the allegedly defective seat belts to be to be pulled from the market. According to Long’s claims, the seat belt buckle would get gunked up with food, juice, milk, vomit and other particles that it would become difficult to unlatch. In an additional July Graco recall, another 1.9 million care seats were removed.

Graco argued that since Long was offered full monetary compensation twice by company for his car seat class action claims, the plaintiff does not have jurisdiction to sue the car seat manufacturer. However, Judge Donato disagreed, stating that Graco failed to establish factual evidence that Long was ever offered a full refund at any time, let alone twice, for his allegedly defective Graco car seat product.

According to Judge Donato’s ruling:

“Even assuming applicable law allows for a finding of mootness or lack of standing after an offer or delivery of full compensation, and recognizing the burden allocation on this issue, Graco does not raise a legitimate question about subject matter jurisdiction. The motion is all smoke and no fire about whether Graco actually tendered refunds to Long before or after this lawsuit started.”

This is not Graco’s first attempt to stop this car seat class action lawsuit in its tracks. Earlier this year, the company submitted another motion to dismiss Long’s class action lawsuit by arguing that the Graco car seat recall program provides affected consumers with a “full refund” when the product is returned. Long fought back, stating Graco’s supposed remedy only offers consumers a replacement seat belt buckle, not a full refund as previously stated by the company.

In addition to this Graco car seat class action lawsuit, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had also been looking into the allegedly defective belt buckles since 2012. During the February Graco recall, the NHTSA published several car seat belt buckle reports, which stated that the buckles were sometimes impossible to remove, meaning that in an emergency, a parent would be forced to pick up the child and car seat together, potentially weighing over 70 pounds.

The plaintiff is represented by Jordan L. Lurie, Robert K Friedl, Tarek H. Zohdy and Cody R. Padgett of Capstone Law APC.

The Graco Car Seat Class Action Lawsuit is Seth Long v. Graco Children’s Products Inc., Case No. 3:13-cv-01257, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: At a hearing on Sept. 9, 2015, the parties asked a judge to delay making a decision about certification for the Graco car seat class action lawsuit in order to give them time to work out the details of a proposed settlement.