Opt Out Date in Ford Tailgate Class Action Approaching

Current and former owners and lessees of certain Ford Explorer, Mercury Mountaineer and Lincoln Aviators will be advised in the next month or so of their right to opt out of a Ford tailgate class action lawsuit.

On Oct. 24, lawyers for both the plaintiffs and the defendant signed an agreed order on the complete opt-out protocol for the Ford tailgate class action lawsuit. The order states that letters must go out by Nov. 5, or five days after a judge approves the order.

According to CarComplaints.com, which reports that it has received thousands of complaints about cracked tailgates in the named vehicles, Ford allegedly sold SUVs with tailgates prone to crack because of defective materials.

More than 30 named plaintiffs from 25 states are seeking to represent a nationwide Class that could be in the millions.

The proposed class is reserved for people who purchased, in the United States, a model 2002 through 2005 Ford Explorer or Mercury Mountaineer, or model 2003 through 2005 Lincoln Aviator.

The consumers who bought the millions of affected Ford vehicles may not have done so had they known of the defect, according to the Ford tailgate class action lawsuit. Some consumers report the alleged defect is so bad it caused the back windows to shatter.

“Furthermore, the plaintiffs say they certainly wouldn’t have paid a premium price for the Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles if Ford would have admitted the tailgates could crack,” according to CarComplaints.com.

According to the Ford class action lawsuit, the tailgates contained a common defect that causes a body panel known as the appliqué on the rear tailgate to sustain a crack, near the vehicle’s emblem.

Ford knew of the cracked tailgate problem at least by early 2002, within the first few months after all three brands of the Ford vehicles were initially manufactured, according to the Ford tailgate class action lawsuit, but took no action.

Ford was also allegedly aware that the cracked tailgate was and is a safety risk because it can cause the tailgate glass to shatter or the applique to “fly off” during the vehicle’s operation.

Ford’s own warranty records reveal thousands of instances of the problem, yet Ford did not disclose it. Ford also did not disclose that if the issue occurred after the vehicle’s warranty expired, Ford may refuse to cover the cost of repairing the defective part.

The plaintiffs had alleged that since the cracked tailgate defect existed beginning when the SUVs were manufactured, Ford should cover the repair as part of the original warranty.

A federal judge dismissed the warranty claims but did allow the consumer protection and deceptive trade practice claims of the Ford lawsuit to go forward.

A case management statement provided the important upcoming dates related to the Ford tailgate lawsuit:

• Plaintiffs must file their motion for Class certification on or before December 12, 2014
• The deadline for Ford to depose Plaintiffs’ expert(s) supporting their motion for Class certification will be Jan. 23, 2015
• Ford must file its brief opposing the motion forCclass certification on or before March 6, 2015
• The deadline for Plaintiffs to depose Ford’s expert(s) supporting its brief opposing the Plaintiffs’ motion for Class certification is April 3, 2015
• Plaintiffs must file their reply brief in support of their motion for Class certification on or before May 24, 2015
• The hearing on Plaintiffs’ motion for Class certification will take place on June 18, 2015

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