— A BMW diesel class action lawsuit settlement has been granted final approval for customers of 2009-2013 BMW X5 xDrive35d or 2009-2011 BMW 335d vehicles.
The BMW class action alleges the diesel vehicles are equipped with emissions defeat devices built by Bosch. The lawsuit is one of many against several automakers after Volkswagen was caught cheating on emissions tests.
The BMW lawsuit alleges the vehicles passed official emissions testing, but in real-world driving the illegal defeat devices caused the vehicles to emit illegal levels of pollutants.
BMW fought the class action for five years, and at one point the lawsuit was dismissed entirely.
In the 459-page lawsuit, the BMW owners who sued told the court BMW should order a recall of the vehicles or create a "free replacement program" to replace all the allegedly defective vehicles.
The plaintiffs also told the judge they should have the option to receive the money back they paid for their "Polluting BMW Vehicles."
But according to the BMW diesel settlement, the vehicles won't be recalled, repurchased or repaired for free. Instead, a BMW diesel customer may be eligible for a payment from a settlement fund.
BMW Emissions Lawsuit Settlement
BMW denies all the allegations in the lawsuit, but to put an end to the matter the automaker agreed to create a $6 million settlement fund. However, more than 127,000 affected owners won't have access to the entire $6 million because of what must be deducted from the fund.
The settlement says the attorneys who sued will receive nearly $3 million from the fund, and also deducted from the fund are payments to the 18 customers who sued, payments to the settlement administration company, and all taxes and tax expenses will be deducted from the settlement fund.
"Cash Awards will be pro rata shares of the Net Settlement Fund based on each Settlement Class Member’s respective length of ownership and/or lease of their Class Vehicle." — BMW class action lawsuit settlement
Customers of 2009-2013 BMW X5 xDrive35d or 2009-2011 BMW 335d vehicles must submit their claims by December 18, 2024. The settlement says customers who submit valid claims will receive their payments in 2025.
According to the BMW settlement, these 18 owners who filed the lawsuit will receive $5,000 each.
Charles Rogers, Brian Beckner, Chad Maccanelli, Werner Rogmans, Garner Rickman, Darshan Patel, Alexander VanDamme, Irving Cohen, Angela Hughes, Charles Chapman, Miguel Fragoso, Tom Hoffman, Salomon Campos, Dean Werner, Alfredo Arias, Kyle Kern, Erica Olson, and Eric Stenglein.
The attorneys who represent those owners will receive $1,998,000 in fees and $1,000,000 for expenses.
The BMW diesel class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey: Rickman, et al., v. BMW of North America LLC, et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody, Agnello, P.C., Hagens Berman, and Seeger Weiss.