— A Mazda fuel pump recall caused a class action lawsuit that has been dismissed after the plaintiff sued on behalf of himself and other Mazda owners.
In November 2021, a Mazda fuel pump recall was announced because the DENSO pumps were defective and needed to be replaced. Mazda told the government about 1% of the vehicles may have been equipped with faulty fuel pumps.
DENSO and multiple automakers issued fuel pump recalls, but the Mazda plaintiff insisted other 2013-2020 Mazda vehicles should have been recalled.
The 2021 Mazda fuel pump recall included these models and model years.
- 2018 Mazda Mazda3
- 2018 Mazda Mazda6
- 2019 Mazda CX-3
- 2018-2019 Mazda MX-5
- 2018-2019 Mazda CX-5
- 2018-2019 Mazda CX-9
- 2019-2020 Mazda Mazda2
The Mazda class action lawsuit was filed by Tamerlane T. Bey II, who alleges all fuel pumps ending with part number 13350 are defective.
The plaintiff says Mazda should have warned customers to park their vehicles, and the automaker should have provided loaner cars to customers until the fuel pumps were replaced.
The Mazda fuel pump recall was announced in November 2021, but Mazda said it knew of only four vehicles that had fuel pump problems as of September 2021.
Mazda Fuel Pump Class Action Lawsuit Dismissed
Plaintiff Tamerlane T. Bey II, filed the fuel pump lawsuit "pro se," meaning on behalf of himself. But because it is a class action lawsuit, the plaintiff said he was representing himself and other Mazda customers.
Mazda filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit but the plaintiff didn't file a response.
Judge J. Paul Oetken dismissed the fuel pump class action by first noting the lawsuit alleges other Mazda customers claim they took their vehicles to Mazda for fuel pump problems. However, the plaintiff didn't claim he took his vehicle to a Mazda dealer.
The judge also found the same details in the plaintiff's lawsuit were "verbatim as to the experience of the named plaintiff in another class action currently pending in California’s Central District, but with the substitution of Bey’s name."
"Bey’s complaint is, aside from the insertion of his own name and vehicle purchase information, nearly word-for-word identical to the first complaint filed in the California action. This explains some idiosyncrasies of the complaint, such as references to “counsel,” though Bey proceeds pro se, and references to multiple plaintiffs, despite Bey proceeding alone." — Judge Oetken
However, Judge Oetken dismissed the entire Mazda fuel pump lawsuit because as "a pro se plaintiff, Bey cannot bring an action on behalf of others."
The Mazda fuel pump class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York: Tamerlane T. Bey II, v. Mazda Motor of America, Inc., et al.
The plaintiff is representing himself.