— Volkswagen argues an ID.4 sudden acceleration class action lawsuit should be stopped now and tossed out.
Connecticut plaintiff Janice Beecher and Massachusetts plaintiff Omar Hakkaoui contend 2021-2023 Volkswagen ID.4 SUVs experience sudden acceleration due to steering wheel controls and buttons.
The Volkswagen ID.4 steering wheel has media system controls on the right side and driver assistance system controls on the left side of the steering wheel.
According to the class action lawsuit, the steering wheel adaptive cruise control (ACC) buttons are capacitive, and a "light brush with one’s fingers or touch of the hand with low pressure over the controls on the wheel is enough to make the vehicle’s system reengage to its last set speed on cruise control."
The lawsuit asserts 2021-2023 Volkswagen ID.4 sudden acceleration occurs due to the haptic steering wheel buttons/control which supposedly activate adaptive cruise control.
But Volkswagen allegedly blames sudden unintended acceleration incidents on the driver pressing the accelerator pedal instead of the brake pedal.
Motion to Dismiss the VW ID.4 Sudden Acceleration Lawsuit
According to Volkswagen, the two plaintiffs do not identify what they claim to be the defect and the specific components involved. Instead, the lawsuit merely alleges what the plaintiffs claim to be purported symptoms or results of the unidentified “defect.”
In its motion, Volkswagen claims the entire ID.4 class action "consists primarily of vague and conclusory allegations that lack the essential pleaded facts required to establish Plaintiffs’ claims."
"In addition, while each Plaintiff claims to have experienced an incident allegedly attributed to the steering wheel ACC controls, they have not pled facts establishing that any such incidents were caused by those controls, much less by a defect, and no Plaintiff claims that any dealer ever diagnosed a problem with his/her vehicle’s ACC controls." — Volkswagen
The plaintiffs also never claim they stopped driving their ID.4s because of the supposed acceleration defect.
Volkswagen begins with plaintiff Beecher who asserts while attempting to pull her 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 into a parking space, she brushed her hand against the steering wheel and her ID.4 accelerated and struck a tree.
Volkswagen argues Beecher does not claim to have applied the brakes at any time during the incident, but she brought her vehicle to a dealer for repairs.
"However, she does not allege (i) that she told the dealer that she had purportedly brushed against the steering wheel, much less that it caused the alleged incident, or (ii) that she requested that the dealership inspect or repair her steering wheel’s ACC controls." — VW's motion to dismiss the lawsuit
The plaintiff further complains she contacted Volkswagen about the alleged sudden acceleration incident but was told the vehicle’s event data recorder did not contain any information showing that the incident even occurred.
VW also argues the plaintiff does not claim to have pursued the matter any further or to have ever requested that her steering wheel’s controls be inspected and repaired by any Volkswagen dealer.
The VW ID.4 lawsuit also says the plaintiff experienced another sudden acceleration incident, but this time she applied the brakes to stop the SUV. But VW notes the plaintiff doesn't claim the incident occurred because her hand brushed against the steering wheel or engaged the controls. She also doesn't say she ever brought her vehicle to a Volkswagen dealer for inspection or repair.
Plaintiff Hakkaoui complains his wife experienced a sudden acceleration incident while parking their 2022 Volkswagen ID.4 in the driveway. The class action lawsuit alleges the front of the ID.4 was “scratched” and the garage door was damaged.
"But Hakkaoui does not allege that his wife had touched the ACC controls on the steering wheel, much less engaged the ACC or ever applied the vehicle’s brakes." — VW ID.4 acceleration lawsuit
A dealer inspected the vehicle but found “no sign of any manufacturing shortcomings.”
According to the motion to dismiss the ID.4 sudden acceleration class action, express warranty claims must be dismissed because Beecher never requested and was never refused any repair of the steering wheel controls under the ID.4 warranty. And plaintiff Hakkaoui allegedly fails to allege a failure to repair a diagnosed problem with his vehicle.
Volkswagen further argues the implied warranty claims fail because the two plaintiffs allegedly fail to plead facts to show their ID.4 vehicles are not merchantable. VW also points out the plaintiffs have driven their ID.4s for years and continue to drive the SUVs.
The federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act claims allegedly fail because the sudden acceleration lawsuit names two plaintiffs, not the required 100 plaintiffs necessary for a class action lawsuit in a federal court.
VW argues fraud claims should be tossed because the two plaintiffs supposedly fail to adequately plead or name the alleged "defect" that Volkswagen allegedly concealed. The plaintiffs also purportedly fail to establish the automaker knew about some claimed defect before the plaintiffs leased or purchased their ID.4 vehicles.
Volkswagen also told the judge the lawsuit should not proceed as a nationwide class action because the two plaintiffs reside in Massachusetts and Connecticut. But the plaintiffs allegedly lack standing and cannot represent a class of VW ID.4 owners or lessees who live outside those two states.
The Volkswagen ID.4 sudden acceleration class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey: Janice Beecher and Omar Hakkaoui v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
The plaintiffs are represented by Longman Law, P.C., Migliaccio & Rathod LLP, and Scott Hirsch Law Group, PLLC.