Chrysler Class Action Says Tire Defect Injures All Owners

The plaintiff who filed a proposed class action against Chrysler in 2014 says that the defective tire valve stems on all minivans hurt not just buyers who have had their tires fail, but economically injures those with intact tires by causing them to pay too much for defective vehicles.

Plaintiff Robert Tomassini filed a memorandum in response to Chrysler Group LLC’s (now known as FCA US LLC) recent motion to exclude certain “uninjured” consumers from participating in the proposed Class of plaintiffs.

Tomassini asked the judge to reject Chrysler’s motion to exclude certain buyers, saying these individuals ended up paying more for their minivans than they otherwise would have if the manufacturer had disclosed the “dangerous defect” that could cause immediate loss of air in the tires.

“Chrysler’s motion appears reasonable at first glance, but crumbles upon inspection,” the memorandum reads. “Plaintiff’s survey and economics experts have opined that all absent class members have also been injured by paying more for their vehicles at the point-of-sale than they would have had Chrysler disclosed the dangerous defect. There are no ‘uninjured class members’ to exclude.”

In his original class action lawsuit, the plaintiff claimed that the valve stems of a group of Chrysler and Dodge minivans had alloy that rusted when exposed to salt. This erosion made the tires prone to deflating in an instant without warning.

The proposed Class consists of consumers who purchased Chrysler or Dodge minivans with alloy valve stems on the tires after June 10, 2009.

In the memorandum, Tomassini pointed out that a judge previously ruled that an attempt like Chrysler’s motion to exclude Class Members was premature.

“Defendant’s motion challenges the standing of absent class members, which this court has already said would be ‘best resolved at the class certification stage,’” Tomassini argued. “Second Circuit precedent establishes that the court should not even look to the evidence before certification to assess class standing, but rather, accept the complaint’s allegations as true. And plaintiff has properly alleged class-wide injury.”

Tomassini adds in a footnote that thus far, FCA “has steadfastly refused to produce materials related to its knowledge and analysis of the defect.” He states that the manufacturer should have produced “hundreds” of pages of documentation in response to a subpoena to a third party.

Of the responses received, Tomassini states that the proposed Class would be further narrowed to include buyers who bought Chrysler and Dodge minivans manufactured between June 10, 2009 to May 25, 2010.

Tomassini is represented by Elmer Robert Keach III of the Law Offices of Elmer Robert Keach III PC; Gary E. Mason of Whitfield Bryson & Mason LLP; Nicholas A. Migliaccio and Jason Rathod of Migliaccio & Rathod LLP; Gary S. Graifman, Robert A. Lubitz and Jay Brady of Kantrowitz Goldhamer & Graifman PC; and Daniel C. Calveer.

The Chrysler Tire Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Tomassini v. FCA US LLC, Case No. 3:14-cv-01226, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.