Ford Tailgate Lawsuit Progresses Despite Claim Rejection

Though some of the claims in the Ford cracked tailgate lawsuit have been nixed, the bulk of the lawsuit is still moving forward.

A Ford cracked tailgate class action lawsuit has been launched against Ford over allegations that the car maker cut corners on the designs of its tailgates, leading to structural problems.

Allegedly, the cracked Ford tailgate causes moisture to build up within the tailgate, causing it to slowly warp and eventually crack, sometimes over the course of years. The warped and cracked tailgates can even cause the rear window to crack and shatter from the tension brought on by the warped frame.

The alleged defect has been seen in the Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator, and Mercury Mountaineer.

In many of these cases, it took longer for the Ford tailgate cracks to develop than the explicit warranty of the vehicles. However, some federal and state laws, particularly in California, may hold auto makers to different standards, requiring a basic level of implied warranty coverage. These various levels of law have complicated the matter.

Several questions could greatly influence the outcome of the Ford cracked tailgate lawsuits.

First, there is a question of whether Ford was aware of the defect and withheld this information. This could make the Ford cracked tailgate lawsuit a matter of fraud rather than of warranty law.

Another question is whether the Ford cracked tailgates stem from a design flaw that existed when the vehicles rolled off the lot. This could strengthen claims that the Ford cracked tailgate lawsuits are a warranty issue, implied or otherwise.

This level of complexity is why the cases have continued to move forward even as certain cases that were consolidated into the same Ford cracked tailgate class action lawsuit have been dismissed.

The Ford Cracked Tailgate Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Ford Tailgate Litigation, Case No. 3:11-cv-02953, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On June 13, 2016, the Ford Cracked Tailgate class action lawsuit was dismissed.