Bulk of Class Action Against Car Manufacturer for Defective Navigational/Entertainment System Allowed To Proceed
In a putative class action brought against a car manufacturer for fraud and breach of warranty claims in fifteen states, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California denied the manufacturer’s motion to dismiss with respect to most claims. The case alleges that the manufacturer’s navigation/entertainment system, which allows for control of multiple car functions including the rear defroster and rearview camera, is defective and that the company knew it was defective at the time the cars containing the system were sold.
The plaintiffs allege that the problems with the system freezing up and blacking out create safety risks as malfunctions cause drivers to become distracted. In examining whether the fraud claims could survive the manufacturer’s motion to dismiss, the court found that a duty to disclose existed based on these safety concerns. Specifically, the court found that “a reasonable jury could find that a suddenly malfunctioning [] system could create a safety risk, particularly if the system were to suddenly crash while a person was driving.”
