Jeep Leaky Sunroof Class Action Survives Summary Judgment Bid

Last week, a New Jersey federal judge denied a summary judgment bid by Chrysler Group LLC that would have dismissed the remaining claims in a class action lawsuit alleging a defect in certain Jeep vehicles that causes the sunroof to leak.

In rejecting Chrysler’s motion for summary judgment, U.S. District Judge Michael A. Shipp found that the parties have participated in discovery related to Class certification, but have not yet engaged in any discovery related to the merits of the putative Jeep class action lawsuit, including discovery related to the plaintiffs’ breach of warranty and fraud claims.

In October 2015, Judge Shipp dismissed breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, and the state consumer fraud violations from three of the six plaintiffs named in the Jeep class action lawsuit. However, he let the remaining breach of warranty, Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act and consumer protection law claims from other states proceed.

The vehicles at issue in the Jeep class action lawsuit include the Jeep Patriot, Jeep Liberty, Jeep Compass, Jeep Commander, Jeep Cherokee, Chrysler Town and Country, and 300 series. According to the Jeep class action lawsuit, some of these vehicles are equipped with sunroofs that are defective because of Chrysler’s design, materials and installation.

The Jeep class action lawsuit asserts that the plaintiffs, whose vehicles had sunroofs that would leak, were unable to have the defect and resulting damages caused by the leak repaired. The plaintiffs claim that Chrysler dealers blamed the problem on environmental factors or improper maintenance and refused to fix the problem even though the defect allegedly manifested during the three-year warranty period.

According to the Jeep leaky sunroof class action lawsuit, Chrysler was aware of the sunroof defect but chose not to fix the issue.

In September 2015, Chrysler reportedly issued a Technical Service Bulletin related to a water leak at the rear of the sunroof that could occur during high-pressure washing, the Jeep class action lawsuit says.

A similar Jeep leaky sunroof class action lawsuit was dismissed in September 2014. The Jeep class action lawsuit was reportedly dismissed after the court indicated concern that discovery in the case had not moved forward. The new Jeep class action lawsuit, which involves some of the same plaintiffs in the earlier case, was filed shortly thereafter.

A Class certification hearing was reportedly scheduled to take place on April 3, according to the court calendar.

The plaintiffs are represented by John Keefe Jr. and Stephen T. Sullivan Jr. of Keefe Bartels, Joseph Lopiccolo of Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Peter C. Lucas of Law Offices of Peter C. Lucas LLC.

The Jeep Leaky Sunroof Class Action Lawsuit is David Cox, et al. v. Chrysler Group LLC, Case No. 3:14-cv-07573-MAS-DEA, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.