Nissan Can’t Escape Shattering Sunroof Class Action Lawsuit

A federal judge has denied Nissan’s bid to dismiss a class action lawsuit against them alleging that the automaker sold vehicles with defective sunroofs.

U.S. District Judge William Orrick found that the plaintiffs in the case passed legal muster, despite Nissan’s argument that they failed to include enough details.

The Nissan class action lawsuit alleged that the automaker sold vehicles with defective panoramic sun roofs. In models dating as far back as 2008, Nissan allegedly installed sunroofs prone to shattering without warning.

The Nissan sunroof class action claims that the defect stems from Nissan’s decision to use thin tempered glass that is weakened by a stage in the manufacturing process.

The Nissan class action lawsuit was filed in February 2017 and was amended three times. Shortly after the initial filing, Nissan filed a motion to dismiss three of the plaintiffs’ claims, stating that they failed to include enough details to bring claims under Illinois and Colorado state consumer protection laws.

However, Judge Orrick found that the plaintiffs provided enough detail to move forward with the Nissan shattering sunroof class action lawsuit.

Judge Orrick wrote that plaintiff April Ahrens allegations are “somewhat bare” but now include specifics about certain advertisements she reviewed and details about discussions with the employees at the Nissan dealership where the alleged defect wasn’t acknowledged.

“Given that she raises a claim of concealment, requiring her to identify with more specificity the statements made that omitted the defect would largely be an artificial exercise,” Judge Orrick wrote in his ruling. “Presumably, none of Nissan’s marketing materials or salespeople disclose to potential purchasers that the panoramic sunroofs spontaneously shatter.”

Judge Orrick also found that plaintiff Lisa Spry had sufficiently argued her case. Spry sued under Colorado state consumer laws and updated her claims with sufficient details, Judge Orrick found.

“Again, given the relaxed standard in the context of fraudulent omission claims, these allegations are sufficiently specific to put Nissan on notice of the alleged misconduct,” Judge Orrick wrote.

Additionally, Judge Orrick declined to dismiss claims brought by plaintiff Janelle Horne who was apparently not named in any of the counts. However, the remaining plaintiffs argued that her allegations were the very similar to those of another California plaintiff, Sherida Johnson, whose claims had been upheld. Judge Orrick agreed with the plaintiffs’ argument.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs told Law360 that Judge Orrick’s ruling made it clear that Nissan has to face the class action lawsuit in court. “We are very pleased with Judge Orrick’s decision. Going forward, we’re going to go into full-blown discover,” the attorney stated.

The plaintiffs are represented by Crystal Foley, Paul J. Hanley Jr., and Mitchell M. Breit of Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC; Gregory F. Coleman, Adam A. Edwards, Lisa A. White, and Mark E. Silvey of Greg Coleman Law PC.

The Nissan Shattering Sunroof Class Action Lawsuit is Johnson, et al. v. Nissan North America Inc., Case No. 3:17-­cv-­00517, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: On Jan. 14, 2019, Nissan agreed to mediate a Nissan sunroof class action lawsuit with a consumer alleging that the glass feature can shatter without warning.