GM class action alleges automaker shares driving info without consent

GM data class action overview: 

• Who: Plaintiff Romeo Chicco filed a class action lawsuit against General Motors (GM), OnStar and LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
• Why: Chicco claims GM and OnStar collected his driving data without his permission and shared it with LexisNexis Risk Solutions.
• Where: The GM class action was filed in federal court in Florida. 

A class action lawsuit claims that General Motors (GM) and OnStar collected driver information without consent and shared it with LexisNexis Risk Solutions, impacting drivers’ auto insurance premiums.

Plaintiff Romeo Chicco purchased a 2021 Cadillac XT6 on Nov. 16, 2021, and downloaded the MyCadillac app but never signed up for OnStar. Chicco’s auto insurance company stopped offering coverage in southern Florida in December 2023, and when he applied for new insurance, he was surprised to find himself denied.

Chicco was informed by Liberty Mutual that the denial was due to a driver report from LexisNexis Risk Solutions that showed 258 driving events, which he later determined were recorded by OnStar.

OnStar records the GM driving info without authorization and sells it to LexisNexis, Chicco’s lawsuit claims.

“The data presented on the Lexis Consumer report is so decontextualized that it can hardly be called accurate,” the GM class action says. “Nevertheless, insurance companies rely upon these consumer reports to determine pricing or flatly reject a potential customer, as has happened here.”

Other owners of GM vehicles have reported insurance rate hikes because of GM data

The New York Times highlighted similar issues with LexisNexis data leading to increased insurance rates for GM customers.

“Automakers, including G.M., Honda, Kia and Hyundai have started offering optional features in their connected-car apps that rate people’s driving,” the New York Times wrote. “Some drivers may not realize that, if they turn on these features, the car companies then give information about how they drive to data brokers like LexisNexis… Especially troubling is that some drivers with vehicles made by G.M. say they were tracked even when they did not turn on the feature — called OnStar Smart Driver — and that their insurance rates went up as a result.”

Class counsel is asking for actual, statutory and punitive damages along with attorneys’ fees and costs.

GM recalled 570,434 trucks in the United States earlier this year due to a tailgate issue that can increase the risk of a crash.

Is your GM vehicle equipped with OnStar? Let us know in the comments.

The plaintiff is represented by Ryan L. McBride and Mohammad Kazerouni of Kazerouni Law Group APC.

The GM data class action lawsuit is Chicco v. General Motors LLC, et al., Case No. 9:24-cv-80281, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California.

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