Nissan persuades US court to invalidate crackdown lawsuits
Delhi Delhi. Nissan on Friday persuaded a federal appeals court to dismiss 10 class actions accusing the Japanese automaker of selling cars and SUVs with faulty automatic emergency braking systems that caused the vehicles to stop suddenly without cause.The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati said it was unfair to let drivers of 14 Nissan models sue in groups under the laws of 10 different states simply by claiming that the braking systems weren’t working.
Drivers claimed they experienced “phantom” activations of the system at low overpasses, parking garages, and railroad crossings, rather than when a collision might have been imminent. However, writing for a three-judge panel, Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton said some drivers may never have experienced the sudden braking, or initially sought repairs. He also said Nissan created “different” software upgrades for different models that seemed to fix the problem for some drivers, suggesting there was no common defect.
“An analysis of the various manifestations of the alleged defect is necessary to assess whether the common evidence can vindicate plaintiffs or Nissan on a class-wide basis,” Sutton wrote.Class actions are likely to allow plaintiffs to obtain more remedies at a lower cost than if they were forced to sue individually.The litigation involves Nissan’s 2017 to 2020 Rogue, 2017 to 2021 Rogue Sport, 2019 to 2021 Altima and 2020 to 2021 Kicks.
The 10 states are California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.Attorneys for the drivers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nissan and its attorneys did not immediately respond to similar requests.
