— A Ford transmission "mass" action lawsuit is over after actions occurred in court that don't typically occur.
The Ford 6F35 transmission mass action alleges 2010-2020 Ford Fusion and 2009-2021 Ford Escape vehicles are defective because the transmissions are defective.
According to the judge hearing the case, this isn't a typical class action lawsuit because of how the plaintiff filed the complaint.
Whether you call it a Ford 6F35 transmission class action lawsuit or a transmission mass action, the arguments remain the same about the alleged defects.
The lawsuit alleges Ford "unlawfully induced" consumers to purchase the vehicles by concealing the Ford Fusion and Ford Escape 6F35 transmissions problems. Customers are then stuck with vehicles that have diminished values and will require expensive repairs due to the transmissions.
According to the Ford 6F35 transmission lawsuit, vehicle owners contend the Ford Fusions and Ford Escapes suffer all sorts of problems:
- Violent jerking and shaking
- Shuddering and juddering
- Delayed acceleration
- Slipping gears
- Delayed downshifts
- Clunk sounds when slowing down or accelerating at low speeds
- Lurching, surging or revving
Motion to Sever
Sean F. Cox began by noting how plaintiff Gerkarrah Jones is the only plaintiff named on the original transmission lawsuit, but the lawsuit attached spreadsheets listing the names of nearly 4,000 other consumers who were not referenced anywhere in the body of the lawsuit.
While the lawsuit references the Class Action Fairness Act, the judge ruled the Ford transmission lawsuit is not a class action.
"Notably, this is not a class action. This case was filed as a mass action and these nearly four thousand individuals seek to litigate their claims against Ford on an individual basis. The First Amended Complaint broadly alleges that these thousands of individuals experienced one or more of a litany of problems with their vehicles, that they attribute to one or more of at least fifteen different possible defects." — Judge Cox
These nearly 4,000 consumers owned Ford Fusions or Escapes across numerous model years, with one of several different kinds of transmissions and purchased or leased in 50 different states over a period of more than 10 years.
Ford filed a motion to sever the nearly 4,000 Ford customers from the transmission lawsuit, a motion granted by Judge Cox.
The judge says the Ford 6F35 transmission claims were misjoined, and allowing repetition of individual claims from nearly 4,000 customers to move forward as a single lawsuit "would be impractical and unmanageable."
Judge Cox dismissed all the claims from the nearly 4,000 Ford customers and said any of them could refile as individual actions.
This left the only named plaintiff, Gerkarrah Jones, who voluntarily dismissed all her Ford transmission lawsuit claims.
The Ford 6F35 transmission mass action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (Southern Division): Gerkarrah Jones, et al., v. Ford Motor Company.
The plaintiff is represented by Stern Law, PLLC, Wells Law Office, Inc., Marino Law PLLC, and Newsome Melton, PA.