A Honda Class Action Lawsuit claims the automaker’s new line of cars are defective and dangerous. The car class action lawsuit names Honda, Nissan, and Dodge as defendants in the suit. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has set a trial date of June 3rd, 2021. If no settlement is reached, then the case will move to trial. Plaintiffs contend that the cars created a dangerous situation for drivers due to their defective design and seat belts.
Honda Class Action Lawsuit
According to court documents, plaintiff Phylistene Ward claims her Honda Accord suffered from numerous safety defects. Specifically, the car suffered from an airbag failing to deploy in an accident, an automatic transmission failing to engage or disengage upon acceleration, and antilock brakes failing to work properly. Additionally, she claimed the cars were defective because of their failure to properly meet federal regulations and requirements. Plaintiffs claim the Honda cars caused them to have severe injuries including permanent brain damage, paralysis, and death.
Following a class action lawsuit involving Honda cars, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued a decision in favor of the plaintiffs.
On January 6th, the judge ordered Honda to recall all Honda cars and make repairs to those vehicles whose owners had not taken proper steps to maintain the cars. The judge stated that, in his view, “there is evidence that despite plaintiffs’ efforts, Honda failed to comply with its obligations to design and manufacture a motor vehicle that is safe under the circumstances.” The judge also stated that Honda “made direct and foreseeable contributions to the injuries and deaths caused by the defect.” Honda has since appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
On March 9th, plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against Honda.
This suit names as defendants HONDA, LLC, and their engineering and marketing departments. Plaintiffs assert that HONDA failed to design and manufacture a vehicle that was safe under the conditions the car would be operated in during the time that the defect occurred. They further claim that HONDA designed the defective transmissions to avoid timely maintenance requirements and to increase the likelihood that the defective transmissions would fail. HONDA responded with a complaint stating that plaintiffs’ complaint regarding the design defects was “baseless and without merit.”
On June 9th, a three-judge appeals court panel denied a request from HONDA to reconsider their denial of class action status and instead issued an order granting summary judgment in favor of plaintiffs.
Plaintiffs are expected to file their reply by July 10th. In their motion to dismiss, HONDA contends that plaintiffs fail to establish their ability to obtain compensation for the injury and damages sustained as a result of the transmission defects. The Court also found that plaintiffs improperly brought a direct claim against HONDA as an individual because a series of defect reports indicate that HONDA created numerous vehicles with serious defects that were later discovered by outside sources.
Honda’s class action lawsuit claims seek damages for the injuries and damages sustained as a result of the defect in the Honda transmission.
Plaintiffs argue that because HONDA designed the transmission so as to circumvent timely maintenance requirements and instructed dealers to misinform drivers about the need to maintain their units, Honda knew that many drivers would ignore this requirement and would subject themselves to costly and unnecessary transmission repairs. Further, HONDA knew that the failure of these transmissions to comply with manufacturer specifications and upkeep instructions would subject HONDA to numerous fines and penalties under federal and state law. Further, the design of the defective transmissions created a dangerous situation where a driver could be trapped at high speeds in a car with a broken transmission. Plaintiffs seek to hold HONDA and other Honda manufacturers accountable for their design and manufacturing processes, as well as the resulting hazards and injuries to thousands of drivers.
