BMW 6 Series Convertible Top Settlement Gets Preliminary Approval

A federal judge has granted preliminary approval to a class action settlement affecting BMW 6 Series convertible owners who experienced issues with the convertible top failing to open or close fully. If approved, the BMW 6 Series convertible settlement will allow thousands of Class Members to repair the alleged roof defect for free or to be reimbursed for past repairs.

In a February 17 order, U.S. District Judge William J. Martini found the terms of the proposed settlement are “sufficiently fair, reasonable and adequate,” having resulted from adequate investigation by both parties and arms-length negotiation and mediation sessions.

Plaintiffs Robert Gray and Markum George submitted the BMW convertible top class action settlement for court approval in November 2016. Under terms of the settlement, affected vehicle owners will have one year to bring their affected vehicle to an authorized BMW service center to get a software update that fixes the alleged defect. In cases where repair or replacement is necessary, owners may get reimbursed for one BMW convertible top replacement or up to two attempts at repair.

Class Members who want to opt out of or raise objections to the BMW convertible top class action settlement may do so by submitting a timely written statement within 60 days of dissemination of the class notice. Settlement Notices will be mailed out by April 18, 2017.

A hearing on final settlement approval is scheduled for July 20.

Gray initiated this BMW class action lawsuit in 2013. He alleged that within months after he purchased two BMW 6 Series convertibles, the tops began to intermittently fail to open or close. Even when the tops appeared to function correctly, the vehicle would display a top operation error message, and Gray would not be able to open the trunk.

Gray said repairing or replacing the defective BMW convertible top could cost an owner as much as $5,000 out of pocket.

After George joined Gray as plaintiff, Judge Martini winnowed down the number of claims in response to BMW’s motion for dismissal. The action proceeded on claims of fraud and violation of California consumer protection statutes.

BMW then filed another motion for dismissal, seeking to get its European-based branch BMW AG off the hook for the remaining claims. Judge Martini denied that motion in September 2014, noting that the plaintiffs’ allegations specifically implicated activity by both BMW’s European and North American branches.

The certified settlement Class consists of “[a]ll persons or entities in the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico who currently own or lease, or previously owned or leased, a model-year 2004 to 2010 BMW 6 Series (E64) Convertible.” Class Members are expected to number around 31,000. Gray and George will serve as class representatives.

Top Class Actions will provide claim filing instructions for the BMW 6 Series convertible top settlement as soon as they’re available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also “Follow” this case by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the green “Follow Article” button at the top of the page to receive notifications when this article is updated.

The plaintiff Class is represented by Matthew R. Mendelsohn of Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman LLC and by Payam Shahian of Strategic Legal Practices APC.

The BMW Convertible Top Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Robert Gray, et al. v. BMW of North America LLC, et al., Case No. 2:13-cv-03417, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

UPDATE: The BMW 6 Series Convertible Top Class Action Settlement is now open! Click here to file a claim.