General Motors Class Action Lawsuit Trimmed Due To Late Filings, Out-of-Warranty Repairs

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

General Motors Class Action Lawsuit Overview:

• Who: General Motors must face a class action lawsuit alleging it concealed an issue with its starters.
• Why: U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas trimmed some of the drivers’ claims against the company but ruled it must face the majority of the consumer protection claims related to the alleged defect.
• Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in Delaware federal court.

General Motors must face a class action lawsuit alleging that it deceived Chevrolet Camaro owners, although the car owners’ lawsuit has been trimmed due to late filings and out-of-warranty repairs.

U.S. Circuit Judge Stephanos Bibas ruled that General Motors must face the majority of the drivers’ consumer protection claims related to alleged concealed defects in parts installed in recent Chevrolet Camaro models, denying the automakers bid to dismiss the lawsuit.

GM did successfully argue that some of the Camaro buyers’ warranties expired by the time they sought repairs, and it managed to avoid claims brought under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, as well as the allegations of unjust enrichment claims from representing a nationwide class. But most claims lived “to fight another day,” Bibas said.

Drivers Claim Defective Heat Shields Make Camaros Unsafe

The drivers say in their class action lawsuit that every Camaro since model year 2010 has a defective heat shield that makes their cars unsafe, causing them to start slowly, not start at all or stall mid-drive.

General Motors argued that it had no duty to disclose the alleged starter defect, and it couldn’t be found responsible for a “deceptive omission” because the drivers could only allege it had stayed silent on the issue rather than covering it up.

Bibas, however, said, “each state’s law says otherwise.”

“GM does not show that any other class’s consumer-protection and warranty claims fail the predominance requirement. So I will deny those motions to strike,” Bibas wrote in his decision.

Meanwhile, General Motors is facing a separate class action lawsuit that alleges the company refuses to fix a defect in its Chevys which forces drivers to “try to trick their vehicles” into recognizing they are in “park.”

Lead plaintiff Ben Emmrich says GM has manufactured and sold hundreds of thousands of Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Volt, Chevrolet Traverse and Chevrolet Blazer vehicles from approximately mid-2015 to the present that have a major defect. 

Let us know if you’ve ever had an issue with a vehicle from General Motors in the comments section!

The drivers are represented by Russell D. Paul, Abigail Gertner and Amey J. Park of Berger Montague PC; Tarek H. Zohdy and Cody R. Padgett of Capstone Law APC; and Michael K. Yarnoff of Kehoe Law Firm PC.

GM is represented by Oderah C. Nwaeze of Duane Morris LLP, and Crystal Nix-Hines and Shon Morgan, Meredith R. Mandell, Tina Lo and Christine W. Chen of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP.

The GM Heat Shield Class Action Lawsuit is Talley v. General Motors LLC, Case No. 1:20-cv-01137, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

Read About More Class Action Lawsuits & Class Action Settlements:

• GM Engine Defect Causes ‘Improperly High’ Oil Use, Says Class Action Lawsuit
• Dodge, Jeep Transmission Defect Hidden From Drivers, Says Class Action
• Auto Recalls: Jaguars, Land Rovers, Jeep Wranglers, Subaru Recalled, Study Finds Some Chevy Bolt Owners Risking Battery Fire
• There are a lot more auto recalls than there used to be. Here’s why.