— A class action lawsuit against Fiat Chrysler alleges the automaker should conduct a buyback of 67,000 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans.
More than 30 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid owners filed the class action lawsuit for millions of dollars even though none of them had any problems with their minivans.
Yet they all claim they were "injured" by overpaying for their minivans because the vehicles were recalled. The plaintiffs complain the Pacifica Hybrids have a "Spontaneous Shutdown Risk."
The Pacifica Hybrid class action lawsuit was filed a few weeks after Fiat Chrysler recalled more than 67,000 model year 2017-2023 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrids in January 2023. The recall was necessary because the engines could stall due to the transmission wiring connectors.
But the plaintiffs filed the lawsuit by complaining the minivans would not be properly repaired and Chrysler should repurchase the vehicles from customers. The lawsuit says every minivan owner should be offered a buyback of their vehicle at the Blue Book value on the day before the recall was announced.
The lawsuit also asserts Fiat Chrysler is risking "accidents and injury or death to persons in and around the Shutdown Risk Vehicle," but Chrysler reported there had been no crashes or injuries.
Additionally, the class action alleges Chrysler is playing "Russian Roulette with the lives of their vehicle occupants" and others on the roads.
Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid Class Action (Partly Dismissed)
In a large 187-page opinion, the judge allowed the Pacifica Hybrid class action lawsuit to continue but not in the form wanted by the owners who sued.
According to the hybrid minivan lawsuit, when the recall was announced Chrysler was only offering software updates to warn drivers of a problem before it could occur.
But the automaker complains the plaintiffs didn't give FCA time to properly repair the minivans because just "two weeks after the recall was announced, while the final remedy was being developed, Plaintiffs filed their Complaint.”
This means the Pacifica Hybrid owners filed their class action lawsuit before FCA had even mailed recall notices to owners and before any vehicles were repaired.
Chrysler further argues none of the plaintiffs provide any evidence they overpaid for their minivans simply because the vehicles were recalled.
First, the minivan owners sued for millions of dollars for a problem their vehicles never experienced. Second, no owner sold their minivan for a reduced price simply because it was recalled. And third, no plaintiff alleges the amount of damages from supposedly overpaying for their vehicles.
However, the judge sided with the plaintiffs by finding, "they have suffered an injury in fact."
The Pacifica Hybrid lawsuit also claims FCA knew the minivans were defective because when the recall was announced there had been 16 customer complaints, 242 warranty claims, 59 field reports, and 6 customer assistance records. Those 323 reports had been filed over a four year period, out of 67,118 Pacifica Hybrid minivans.
According to the judge, those reports do not prove Chrysler had presale knowledge of defects in the hybrid minivans, ruling those 323 total reports, "do not appear to be more than a blip on FCA’s complaints and repairs radar" out of 67,000 minivans.
In a big win for Chrysler, Judge Jonathan J.C. Grey ruled the class action lawsuit will not cover all the vehicles nationwide. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of hybrid minivan customers nationwide and on behalf of 18 state-specific sub-classes.
FCA argues the lawsuit doesn't plead viable claims under the laws of 50 states and the plaintiffs do not claim "injuries" in states other than those where the minivans were purchased.
The judge agreed with Chrysler, which will knock down the claims to customers in 18 states.
"Therefore, the Court GRANTS FCA’s motion to dismiss the nationwide claims for lack of standing." — Judge Grey
However, CarComplaints.com cannot yet confirm which states will be included because several plaintiffs had their claims sent to arbitration. More will be known once the results of arbitration are available.
The Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (Southern Division): Kappes, et al., v. FCA US, LLC.
The plaintiffs are represented by Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, and The Miller Law Firm.
