Judge OKs BMW Mini Cooper Class Action Settlement

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On Jan 6, BMW’s settlement of the class action alleging a defect in the timing chain of various model Mini Coopers won preliminary approval.

“The proposed settlement does not provide merely a phantom benefit,” Senior U.S. District Judge William H. Walls declared, “but rather a real benefit pegged to the amount of loss each [class] member has suffered or will suffer.”

The original BMW class action lawsuit alleged that the company knew the timing chain in its N14 engine (used for many models of MINI Coopers between 2007 and 2010) was defective, causing premature engine failure.

The total amount of the settlement is unknown, but counsel for plaintiffs estimates that it may exceed $30 million.  In the proposed settlement of the BMW Mini Cooper class action lawsuit, the car manufacturer agreed to provide four separate categories of relief to the plaintiff class.

First, BMW will provide an extended warranty of seven years or 100,000 miles for the timing chain and timing-chain tensioner.

Second, Class Members will receive 100 percent compensation for timing chain repairs at authorized Mini dealerships. Repairs at independent facilities will be reimbursed up to $850 for timing chains and $120 for timing-chain tensioners.

Third, BMW will pay up to $4,500 to each Class Member for any engine repairs caused by the timing chain or timing-chain tensioner, subject to age and mileage discounts.

Finally, Class Members may receive up to $2,500 if they sold their Mini Coopers for a loss because of “unrepaired damaged or failed engine caused by timing-chain tensioner and/or timing chain failure.” That potential $2,500 reimbursement may also be reduced due to age or mileage of the vehicle involved.

The BMW Mini Cooper engine defect Class Members include “All persons or entities in the United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico who currently own or lease, or previously owned or leased, a model-year 2007 through 2009 MINI Cooper ‘5’ Hardtop (R56), a model-year 2008 through 2009 MINI Cooper ‘5’ Clubman (R55), or a model-year 2009 through 2010 MINI Cooper ‘S’ Convertible (R57) vehicle, manufactured at any time from start of production in November 2006 through July 2010.”

Class members will be identified through BMW’s records, and will be sent mail and email of the Mini Cooper class action settlement. Class Members will then have to submit claims for one or more of the categories of compensation offered by BMW.

More details about the notice and claim procedures for the BMW Mini Cooper class action settlement were not immediately available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com, or for the latest updates sign up for our free newsletter. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive an automatic notification when this article is updated.

The plaintiffs are represented by Raymond P. Boucher, Shehnaz M. Bhujwala, and Maria L. Weitz of Boucher LLP; David Markun and Daria Dub Carlson of Markun Zusman Compton LLP; Bryan L. Clobes and Kelly L. Tucker of Cafferty Clobes Meriwether & Sprengel LLP; William Pinilis of PinilisHalpern LLP; Jeffrey A. Koncius of Kiesel Law LLP; Tina Wolfson, Robert Ahdoot, Theodore W. Maya, and Bradley K. King of Ahdoot & Wolfson PC; and John A. Yanchunis of Morgan & Morgan Complex Litigation Group.

The BMW Mini Cooper Engine Defect Class Action Lawsuit Settlement is Joshua Skeen, et al. v. BMW of North America LLC, Case No. 2:13-cv-1531, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.

UPDATE: The BMW Mini Cooper Class Action Settlement is now open! Click here to file a Claim Form!

UPDATE 2: On July 26, 2016, a federal judge granted final approval of BMW’s $30 million Mini Cooper class action settlement.