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Judge Dismisses Honda Gold Wing Motorcycle Defect Class Action Lawsuit
By John Curran
Plaintiffs in a defective design class action lawsuit must amend their complaint to plead injuries to a person or property, a Florida federal judge ruled in granting Honda Motor’s motion to dismiss a complaint regarding malfunctioning shifters in its Gold Wing motorcycles.
According to the original class action lawsuit, Thomas Aprigliano and other owners suffered economic losses because their motorcycles necessitated repairs to the transmission due to “ghost-shifting” or the system acting without rider input. However, judicial precedent in Florida requires that to allege a tort such as strict liability, negligent misrepresentation or fraud, Aprigliano or the other plaintiffs would need to assert an injury.
Otherwise, U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga wrote, the question of whether or not the product is defective as a result of not meeting warranties or causing injury to itself is a matter of contract law. In addition, Judge Altonaga addressed the breach of warranties section of the Honda motorcycle lawsuit and found significant areas of concern. Specifically, she took issue with the fact that none of the owners named in the class action lawsuit went to company dealerships for repairs within the warranty period, nor even after the written agreement expired. In the case of used motorcycle buyers, the fact that they bought the product out of warranty means “claims for breach of express warranty based on their GL 1800s’ factory warranties are not viable.”
The class action lawsuit also alleged fraud and negligent misrepresentation. Judge Altonaga dismissed these counts as well, noting that the motorcycle owners and their lawyers had failed to articulate when Honda officials were informed or knew of the alleged defective design of the Gold Wing motorcycles, which is “particularly troubling considering Plaintiffs otherwise plead Honda’s knowledge and concealment of the defect ‘upon information and belief.'”
Aprigliano and other plaintiffs will have a second chance, however. Judge Altonaga dismissed the complaint without prejudice, and the Honda motorcycle owners and their class action lawsuit lawyers will have until the middle of next month to amend their complaint.
The plaintiffs are represented by J. Andrew Meyer and Tamra Givens of Morgan & Morgan PA.
The Honda Gold Wing Motorcycle Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Thomas Aprigliano, et al. v. American Honda Motor Co. Inc., Case No. 13-cv-22066, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
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One thought on Judge Dismisses Honda Gold Wing Motorcycle Defect Class Action Lawsuit
My 2012 goldwing has a 2nd gear Gost skip