Class action claims over faulty Ford F-150 transmissions survive dismissal attempt

Ford class action lawsuit overview:

• Who: A federal judge has ruled that Ford cannot dismiss a class action lawsuit alleging its F-150 trucks have faulty transmissions.
• Why: Ford argued that plaintiff Michael Barcelona failed to adequately plead his claims.
• Where: The Ford F-150 class action lawsuit is pending in Illinois federal court.

Ford cannot escape a class action lawsuit alleging it sold certain F-150 trucks with faulty 10-speed automatic transmissions, a federal judge ruled this week.

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Cummings denied Ford’s motion for partial judgment on the pleadings, finding plaintiff Michael Barcelona adequately alleged a violation of Massachusetts consumer protection law.

The Ford F-150 class action lawsuit alleges the 2017-2020 model year trucks have defective transmissions that shift harshly and cause the vehicles to jerk and lunge between gears. Ford allegedly continued to use the defective parts when making the trucks as recently as 2023.

Ford’s motion for partial judgment was limited to the claims brought by Barcelona, a Massachusetts driver who alleges breach of the implied warranty of merchantability and a violation of Chapter 93A of the Massachusetts law.

The sole plaintiff agreed not to pursue any Chapter 93A claim grounded in fraud but sought to proceed on a Chapter 93A claim derivative of his breach of warranty claim or an independent claim under Chapter 93A, Law360 reports.

“Given the fact specific and broad scope of Chapter 93A, and drawing all inferences in [the plaintiff’s] favor, the court finds that he has sufficiently stated an independent claim under Chapter 93A,” Cummings wrote in his decision.

The plaintiff claims Ford violated the law by selling a product that was unsafe to use, representing it as safe and failing to warn consumers that the vehicles contained a defect, the judge said.

Judge finds plaintiff’s claim sufficiently pleaded

Ford argued the solo plaintiff’s Chapter 93A claim should be dismissed because it is solely derivative of his fraud claims. Cummings rejected this argument, finding the plaintiff had sufficiently pleaded a Chapter 93A claim as either an independent cause of action or as derivative to his breach of implied warranty claim.

“Simply put, taken together as a whole, [the plaintiff] has stated an independent claim for violation of Chapter 93A, and the court declines to dismiss the claim in its entirety simply because his fraud claim was previously dismissed,” Cummings wrote.

In 2023, a federal judge in Illinois denied Ford F-150 drivers’ request to expand their class action lawsuit, ruling the motion came too late to add claims involving other Ford models accused of having defective 10-speed automatic transmissions.

What do you think about the allegations made in this Ford F-150 class action lawsuit? Join the discussion in the comments.

The plaintiffs are represented by Gregory F. Coleman of Greg Coleman Law P.C.; Leland Belew, Ryan P. McMillan and Mitchell Breit of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman PLLC; John R. Fabry of the Carlson Law Firm P.C.; Sidney F. Robert of Brent Coon & Associates; and Edward A. Wallace and Mark R. Miller of Wallace Miller.

The Ford class action lawsuit is O’Connor, et al. v. Ford Motor Co., Case No. 1:19-cv-05045, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

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