— General Motors says a fuel pump lawsuit must be dismissed, especially claims regarding a nationwide fuel pump class action lawsuit.
The lawsuit includes 2020-2024 Chevrolet Equinox and 2020-2024 GMC Terrain vehicles with AC Delco fuel pumps inside the fuel tanks.
Florida plaintiffs Greg and Twila Kerr purchased a used 2021 Chevrolet Equinox in October 2022, and Texas plaintiff Robert Knowles purchased a new 2023 GMC Terrain in May 2023.
According to the class action lawsuit, the GM fuel pumps fail before 100,000 miles when they should allegedly last up to 200,000 miles.
General Motors allegedly knew about fuel pump problems in 2019 but concealed the problems from consumers. Instead of fixing the problems before the vehicles were first sold, GM allegedly marketed and sold the vehicles the automaker knew were defective.
GM fuel pump problems caused a recall in February 2023 and included 2021-2022 Chevrolet Equinox and 2022 GMC Terrain vehicles. At that time, General Motors said the fuel pump modules could fail.
But the three plaintiffs who sued contend the recall did not repair the fuel pumps and dealers replaced defective pumps with equally defective fuel pumps.
The class action lawsuit alleges these diagnostic trouble codes can be set due to fuel pump problems.
- P0089 (fuel pressure is not at specification)
- P0191 (potential abnormality in fuel pressure readings)
- P0300 (random or multiple cylinder misfire)
- P0301-0306 (engine misfire on the indicated cylinder)
- P228C (fuel pressure too low)
- P228D (fuel pressure too high)
- P2635 (fuel pump flow performance)
Motion to Dismiss the GM Fuel Pump Lawsuit
According to General Motors, the three plaintiffs purchased two different vehicles and allege two different problems they attribute to the fuel pumps. The plaintiffs bring nationwide class action claims against GM by allegedly "pretending" all 2020 to 2024 Equinox and Terrain vehicles have a common fuel pump problem.
GM argues the plaintiffs fail to allege any facts that would tie the issues they supposedly experienced to a common fuel pump problem present in all of those vehicles.
"And simply defining the supposed 'Defect' to encompass any defect in those vehicles’ 'fuel pumps and/or fuel pump power control modules' that cause them to 'fail or operate intermittently' is insufficient to show how GM could have known about (or fixed) the particular issues that caused the alleged problems in Plaintiffs’ vehicles." — GM motion to dismiss
The plaintiffs allegedly lack standing to assert nationwide claims, and their fraud and consumer claims fail because their allegations do not establish that General Motors knew about the fuel pump problems before the vehicles were sold.
The warranty claims also supposedly fail because the plaintiffs don't claim they sought repairs during the warranty period.
In addition, unjust enrichment claims allegedly fail because the claims cannot allege injuries in any state other than Florida and Texas, where the three plaintiffs live and purchased their vehicles.
But regarding the all-important nationwide class action claims, General Motors argues the alleged class cannot be certified.
"Here, the claims that Plaintiffs assert on behalf of nationwide classes—i.e., 'fraud by omission or fraudulent concealment,' unjust enrichment, and violations of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act (MMWA)—are governed by the underlying laws of each state, and these laws vary considerably among states." — General Motors
GM says for a class action to be certified nationwide, there must be "commonality and predominance" with respect to those claims, but the variations contained in the lawsuit preclude the claims.
Additionally, GM argues nationwide claims must be dismissed because the plaintiffs lack standing to assert those claims on behalf of residents of states in which they have not suffered an injury.
The automaker alleges there are too many various state laws governing those claims, but the three plaintiffs who sued are from only two states: Florida and Texas.
General Motors presented an example of how some states require the defendant acted with reckless disregard or reckless indifference, while other states "require actual knowledge of falsity."
GM also argues in some states, the plaintiffs must prove fraud “by clear and convincing evidence,” but in other states a “preponderance of the evidence” is good enough.
The General Motors fuel pump lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware: Kerr, et al., v. General Motors LLC.
The plaintiffs are represented by Berger Montague PC, and Capstone Law APC.