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GM Air Conditioning Class Action Lawsuit Summary:
- Who: A federal judge refused to dismiss claims by a group of vehicle owners who are suing General Motors (GM).
- What: The GM vehicle owners claim the company sold cars with defective air conditioning units.
- Where: The class action lawsuit seeks to represent consumers nationwide.
General Motors (GM) can’t dodge class action claims that it manufactures vehicles with air conditioning systems that are defective, a judge has ruled.
In an order issued Oct. 26 in a Michigan federal court, US District Judge Matthew F. Leitman denied GM’s motion to dismiss claims against it in the air conditioning class action lawsuit.
The lawsuit goes back to 2018, when a group of GM owners filed class action proceedings alleging some of its vehicles have issues with the air conditioning units that cause them to crack, resulting in refrigerant leaks and pressure loss.
The alleged issues cause the air conditioning to stop cooling the cars, the plaintiffs say.
The affected vehicles include model year 2015-2017 Cadillac Escalades, 2014-2016 Chevrolet Silverado, 2015-2017 Chevrolet Suburban, 2015-2017 Chevrolet Tahoe, 2014-2016 GMC Sierra and 2015-2017 GMC Yukon Vehicles, Law360 reports.
The plaintiffs are suing under the federal Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act and for breach of express warranty and several state-law claims. On Dec. 16, 2020, GM moved to dismiss plaintiffs’ express warranty claims and to strike plaintiffs’ nationwide class allegations, Judge Leitman says in his order.
GM’s Dismissal Bid Stalls in AC Class Action Lawsuit
The court held a video hearing on the motion on May 18, with Judge Leitman ruling to deny GM’s bid this week.
He said GM had tried to argue the plaintiffs’ express warranty claims are not viable because the alleged air conditioning design defect is not covered by warranty.”
“The Court disagrees,” Judge Leitman wrote. “The Court concludes that GM’s reading of the warranty is not the only plausible one. Indeed, it would not necessarily be unreasonable to conclude that the warranty could apply to design defects.”
GM also argued that the court should strike all of plaintiffs’ nationwide Class allegations, arguing that the claims would be governed by the different laws of fifty states and inappropriate for a class action lawsuit.
However, Judge Leitman decided that striking plaintiffs’ class allegations was “not the appropriate remedy at this stage of the proceedings.”
In very similar class action claims filed in 2018, General Motors was accused of concealing the existence and nature of an air conditioning system defect that affected some of their pickup trucks and full-size SUVs.
GM has also been accused of selling vehicles with defective airbags and seatbelts in a series of class action lawsuits lodged this year.
To see if you qualify to join a vehicle safety defect class action lawsuit investigation click here (links to paid attorney advertisement).
The plaintiffs are represented by The Miller Law Firm, Cafferty, Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP and Sauder Schelkopf LLC.
The GM Air Conditioning Class Action Lawsuit is In Re: General Motors Corp Air Conditioning Marketing and Sales Practice Litigation, Case No. 18-md-02818, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
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156 thoughts onGM Can’t Shake Faulty Air Conditioning Class Action Lawsuit, Judge Rules
Just today 2/21/2024, I had to replace a leaking ac compressor on 2015 GMC Sierra with 95000 miles. The shop told me this model has had lots of this issue. How can I get refunded from GM on this $750 expense.
I will never buy another GM product. We have had the air conditioner repaired twice. The third shop said that they could not guarantee that the air conditioner repair would last. This is a travesty. We still have the 2014 Silverado and joined the lawsuit.
Have a 2015 GMC Sierra 1500, having 71,000 miles and in as new condition, and the air conditioning condenser, leaked out the top weld. Call the GMC dealer in Harrison AR, they could not give me a approximate cost to repair or replace the unit. They passed me to the service manager, then to parts and then back to sales. On the call back they said approx 800 dollars. Asked if they have had this problem before and or heard about the problems. No never heard of them was their reply. Took it to a private repair shop, pulled it and it was a bad weld where the leak was coming from. Called back to the dealership and they said it was not covered and still were not aware of problems. So GMC pulls another one on customers and will get away with it
I have a 2014 GMC Sierra SLT Z71 with 55,00 miles, and the Air conditioning system when’s out at 50,000 miles and the dealership told me it would be over 600 dollars just to diagnose the problem, this is just plain incompetence,I should have bought a Nissan Titan, their not perfect but the damn air conditioning systems all work.
I have a 2016 Chevy Surburban. The front ac isn’t blowing cold but the back is.
2015 Silverado with 84000 miles. Was just told I can get it fixed for just under $1,000… Should be a recall….
Just had to replace my ac condenser on my 2015 silverado for cracked condenser