Judge Dismisses Class Action Against Ford - Courthouse News Service
(CN) - Ford Freestar owners whose transmissions failed due to a manufacturing defect cannot sue Ford as a class because the terms of their warranties must be individually proven, a federal judge ruled. James Genovese, Henri Caron, and Edward Daigle were owners of model year 2004 or 2005 Ford Freestar minivans. In a class action filed in 2009, the plaintiffs claimed that Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey minivans in 2004, 2005, and 2006 were built with a manufacturing defect in the vehicles' torque converter. In the District of Minnesota, they claimed Ford breached its express and implied warranties. After the action was filed, Ford issued a recall on 2004-2005 Freestars and Montereys instructing owners to take their car to a dealer for a free new torque converter. Finding their claims inappropriate for class action, U. S. District Judge Michael Davis denied the plaintiffs' motion for class certification and granted Ford's motion for summary judgment. ' Because the express warranty upon which plaintiffs' rely is limited, whether this warranty was in effect for each class member requires individual proof," the judge said. Source: www.courthousenews.com
