Defective Audi Engine Class Action Allowed to Proceed in Part

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A California resident’s decision to seek compensatory damages under New York statutes led to a partial success for Volkswagen Auto Group in its bid to dismiss a proposed class action lawsuit alleging the automaker sold and leased Audi sedans and coupes with defective 2.0-liter turbocharged engines beginning in the 2007 model year.

Out of all the plaintiffs in the proposed class action lawsuit, plaintiff Ali Asghari had the strongest claims, according to Judge Margaret Morrow, having identified that his vehicle’s engine burned excessive amounts of oil. Documentation provided by the plaintiffs’ lawyers showed Asghari had to make several trips to a dealer to have his Audi tested perform repairs. However, Asghari had to modify his portion of the class action lawsuit because while he lives in California, he had purchased his Audi in New York.

Since his claims buttressed the cases for two other plaintiffs under the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act and Unfair Competition Law, they have leave to amend their complaints to plead that they notified Audi of the engine problems. Another plaintiff, Supalak Prasobratana, had all claims under the UCL, CLRA and Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act dismissed due to the statutes of limitation running out and a lack of information regarding efforts to inform the company of excessive oil consumption.

However, the judge decided that there were significant differences between the plaintiffs’ attempt to seek damages based on breaches of express warranties versus implied warranties. As to the former, no part of the Audi engine class action lawsuit adequately pleaded that the plaintiffs had relied on representations made by Audi regarding the issues of excessive oil consumption prior to making their purchase, according to the judge.

Vehicles’ implied warranties of merchantability are different, Judge Margaret Morrow decided. Since the Audi defective engine class action lawsuit noted that the engines could fail as a result of inadequate lubrication and that there were numerous comments in various forums regarding this issue, the cars could be unsafe far before the expected end of their lifetime. For that reason, they can continue to seek damages from Volkswagen Auto Group on breaches of implied warranties provided by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.

The plaintiffs are represented by Jordan L. Lurie and Cody R. Padgett of Capstone Law APC, Payam Shahian and Chris Swanson of Strategic Legal Practices APC and Dara Tabesh of EcoTech Law Group PC.

The Audi Engine Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Ali Asghari, et al. v. Volkswagen Group of America Inc., et al., Case No. 13-cv-02529, U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: A California federal judge approved the Audi oil consumption class action settlement on May 29, 2015. Class Members must meet certain deadlines in order to claim settlement benefits such as free repairs, an extended warranty and reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses. Learn more.