Judge Trims Claims in Mercedes-Benz Moldy HVAC Class Action Lawsuit

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A judge trimmed claims from a class action lawsuit alleging that Mercedes-Benz HVAC systems are defective, allowing mold to grow.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg agreed with Mercedes-Benz’s argument that the company was not in breach of warranty by not covering repairs related to the alleged moldy HVAC problem.

However, Judge Totenberg allowed a number of the plaintiffs claims to move forward, including breach of implied warranty, violations of fair business practices acts, fraud by concealment and unjust enrichment.

In May 2017, plaintifs Sunil Amin and Trushar Patel brought forward a class action lawsuit claiming that HVAC systems in several Mercedes-Benz models possessed a defect that caused mold and mildew to grow inside them, and subsequently fill the cabin with a strong mildew smell.

Amin and Patel claim that this problem impacts a range of Mercedes-Benz vehicles made between 1999 and 2017.

According to the plaintiffs, this problem is caused by the fact that the system does not adequately drain condensation produced in the heating and cooling process, and the moisture grows mildew and mold. Amin and Patel claim that the smell is unpleasant, and that the presence of mildew and mold can aggravate respiratory problems and allergies in people who use the cars.

They claim that Mercedes-Benz fails to address the defect through the vehicles’ warranty, and only offers consumers temporary fixes without addressing or solving the underlying problem. These fixes have included cleaning out the HVAC system and replacing cabin air filters. Additionally, Patel and Amin claim that the company does not cover these services under a vehicle’s warranty, requiring consumers to pay out-of-pocket to fix allegedly defective vehicles.

In their argument, Patel and Amin cited a piece of the warranty that states that the company will cover “anything that goes wrong with your vehicle during the warranty period which is our fault,” arguing that under this broad statement, the company should have repaired the HVAC systems.

However, Judge Totenberg noted that this statement was in conflict with a more precise part of the vehicles’ warranty, which states that the warranty would cover defects in manufacturing and workmanship, but would not cover alleged design defects.

As Patel and Amin’s argument hinges on the idea that the HVAC system is poorly designed, the problem would not be covered under this statement of covered problems. According to Judge Totenberg, as the portion of the warranty that laid out specific problems covered was more specific than the portion cited by Patel and Amin, the more specific portion precluded the one cited by Patel and Amin. Thus, the judge threw out the claim for breach of express warranty.

Judge Totenberg also trimmed a claim alleging that the consumers would suffer future harm from the defective HVAC system. According to the judge, though Patel and Amin had established that they might experience unpleasant odors and other effects from the mold again, these issues may have come from past problems, not future ones.

The Mercedes-Benz owners are represented by Jonathan D. Selbin, John T. Spragens, Abbye R. Klamann and Annika K. Martin of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP and Ketan A. Patel of Corpus Law Patel LLC.

The Mercedes-Benz Moldy HVAC Class Action Lawsuit is Sunil Amin, et. al. v. Mercedes-Benz USA LLC, et. al., Case No. 1:17-cv-01701-AT, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division.

UPDATE: On Dec. 18, 2018, a Georgia federal judge denied Mercedes-Benz’s motion to dismiss a class action which alleged that the vehicles’ air systems smell moldy.

UPDATE 2: On Dec. 20, 2019, a settlement agreement was reached that will resolve three Mercedes class action lawsuits alleging the heating, venting, and air conditioning system in 2.5 million vehicles is prone to smelling moldy.

UPDATE 3: January 2020, the Mercedes HVAC class action settlement website is live. Click here for more information.