Napoli Bern Ripka, LLP Blog

Class Action Product Liability Case Against DaimlerChrysler Failed

The class action product liability case against DaimlerChrysler was put to rest as the judge sided with the defendant because it was proven that the plaintiffs did not incur problems with head gaskets until after warranty expired. The delayed filing of the class action suit also played a part in the failure of the suit because the complaint was filed after the statue of limitations had run out. The class action suit had alleged that the Neon, manufactured by Dodge, was built with defective head gaskets. The class action case’s complaint sited that DaimlerChrysler broke their duty of express and implied warranties, as well as committing fraud. However, the judge did not find this to be true and found that the plaintiff’s Dodge Neon was no longer under warranty when it began experiencing problems.

In dealings like these not only was the vehicle no longer under warranty, but the statue of limitations was also expired. A big issue for the defense was that the vehicle’s head gasket had already lived through its guaranteed warranty of 3 years or 36,000 thousand miles. What was also said was that upon being sold, the Dodge Neon’s head gaskets were already defective because they were not meant to last forever. Therefore once the head gasket had lived past its warranty without any problems, it was deemed not liable. In a products liability case it is necessary to prove that a duty of care was established and one of the parties breached that contract. In this case Dodge Neon had a duty of care for as long as the warranty was upheld

This instance of product liability is something that can appear to be very controversial because of the commitment and responsibility of the individual dealerships. When plaintiffs go above and beyond a reasonable claim, the dealership will fight it. However, if the claim is semi reasonable the dealership might settle the suit just to stay in good standings with their consumers. In businesses that sell products and services that have fierce competition, reputation is everything. There having a negative product liability suit against a dealership is something that is looked very downed upon. DaimlerChrysler did the right thing in fighting for the reputation of their business because they filled all obligations and contracts.