Mercedes Agrees to $54M Seat Warmer Class Action Settlement

Mercedes-Benz has agreed to repair seat heater wiring in nearly 270,000 vehicles to end a class action lawsuit alleging the seats can catch fire.

Lead plaintiffs Elizabeth and William Callaway alleged in their 2014 class action lawsuit that Mercedes used copper wires in vehicle seat warmers.

The copper, said the plaintiffs, runs a fire risk for owners because the material can cause the heater to overheat, spark, smoke or burn a hole through the cover while driving.

The Mercedes class action lawsuit further alleged that the luxury car maker knew of the problem, but hid this information from owners.

“Defendant has denied and continues to deny these allegations. Nevertheless, Plaintiff and Defendant have agreed to settle this lawsuit rather than each side incur the risk and expense of further litigation,” says the plaintiffs’ motion.

Class Members include all current and former owners and lessees of 2000­-2007 M­-Class vehicles, 2006-­2007 R­Class vehicles and 2007 GL­-Class vehicles with original seat heaters.

Under the terms of the settlement, Mercedes owners can obtain a free “bypass wire repair” to fix the problem. The repair should eliminate any potential problems. The bypass wire and installation costs between $200 and $250. It is estimated that Mercedes will pay $54 million to $70 million to cover the repairs.

Additionally, Class Members who do not elect to have their seats repaired will be entitled to an extended warranty for their seat covers under certain conditions, including time and mileage considerations.

All Class Members will be entitled up to $1,000 in reimbursement relief under the class action settlement. Mercedes will pay an estimated $10 million to cover Class Member reimbursements.

“The free bypass repair procedure standing alone provides an extraordinary result to the class,” noted the plaintiffs in their unopposed motion for settlement approval. “That repair was not previously available to class members and is the direct result of this settlement.”

Mercedes has also agreed to pay the plaintiffs’ attorneys up to $5.6 million and $584,000 in incentive awards and claim administration costs.

After being hit with the class action lawsuit, Mercedes argued that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had conducted two investigations and determined that the seat heaters did not present a risk. Additionally, Mercedes resisted the plaintiffs’ discovery attempts accusing them of wastefulness.

According to the plaintiffs’ attorney, after entering into settlement negotiations in October of last year, the Class held strong and refused to accept settlement proposals that did not include a repair.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The Mercedes owners are represented by Jason M. Frank and Scott H. Sims of Frank Sims & Stolper LLP and Eric F. Yuhl and Colin A. Yuhl of Yuhl Carr LLP.

The Mercedes Flammable Seat Heater Class Action Lawsuit is Elizabeth Callaway, et al. v. Mercedes-­Benz USA LLC, et al., Case No. 8:14­-cv-­02011, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

UPDATE: November 2017, the Mercedes seat heater class action settlement is now open. Click here to file a claim.