— A Mercedes-Benz shattered sunroof lawsuit has been shut down and closed after more than three years in court.
The class action lawsuit alleges the panoramic sunroofs shatter and explode while the vehicles are parked and while driving.
A primary argument set forth by the four owners who filed the lawsuit is how the sunroof glass shatters without any external impact to the sunroof.
According to the class action, the sunroofs explode in these Mercedes models.
- 2011-present Mercedes-Benz C-Class
- 2014-present Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class
- 2011-present Mercedes-Benz E-Class
- 2011-present Mercedes-Benz GL-Class
- 2011-present Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class
- 2011-present Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class
- 2011-present Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class
- 2012-present Mercedes-Benz M-Class
- 2012-present Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class
- 2015-2017 Mercedes Maybach S-600
- 2011-2012 Mercedes-Benz R-Class
- 2011-present Mercedes-Benz S-Class
- 2011-2019 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class
- 2013-2020 Mercedes-Benz SLK-Class
- 2013-2020 Mercedes-Benz SLC-Class
Mercedes has supposedly known about the shattering sunroofs since 2006 but failed to warn customers and failed to repair the panoramic sunroofs for free.
The plaintiffs complain of the shock when driving and the Mercedes sunroofs explode, causing dangerous distractions as glass falls onto occupants.
Mercedes Exploding Sunroof Lawsuit Dismissed
The judge had already dismissed all the claims from three plaintiffs which left four plaintiffs remaining. Now Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr. has ended the class action after Mercedes filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
According to Mercedes, the plaintiffs do nothing but show panoramic sunroofs can sometimes break, and Mercedes models are no exception. And while the plaintiffs complain the sunroofs shatter because of laminated glass, Mercedes argues the evidence is missing to support this theory.
Mercedes told the judge the class action lawsuit must end because the plaintiffs have never produced their sunroofs that shattered. According to Mercedes, this makes it impossible for the plaintiffs to show their sunroofs were not damaged by external sources such as road debris.
An expert for Mercedes told the judge it's impossible to perform a root cause failure analysis to determine if there are any defects if the plaintiffs can't present their sunroofs for inspection.
An expert for Mercedes further told the judge an analysis of past sunroof fractures from 2006 to 2016 concluded the breakage incident rate was about 0.0086%. The automaker argues this is proof to show the sunroofs do not contain defects in the panoramic sunroofs across all the vehicle models.
The judge also notes all four plaintiffs took their vehicles to dealerships under the warranties, but the terms of the warranties clearly say customers must show positive physical proof of a manufacturing defect in the sunroofs. But all four plaintiffs were denied reimbursement by the dealers because there was no physical proof of a manufacturing defect.
The judge dismissed the Mercedes sunroof lawsuit by ruling the plaintiffs failed to provide adequate evidence to show Mercedes caused their sunroof problems.
The Mercedes-Benz exploding sunroof lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia: Natalie Bolling v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC, et al.
The plaintiff is represented by Irby Law LLC.