— A Nissan LEAF fast charging class action lawsuit has been dismissed for LEAF owners who claim quick charge recalls supposedly failed.
The lawsuit includes 2019-2022 Nissan LEAF electric vehicles which can purportedly catch fire when using Level 3 fast charging through the CHAdeMO connectors.
A Nissan LEAF quick charging recall was announced in October 2024 for 2019-2020 LEAF electric cars equipped with Level 3 quick charge ports. According to Nissan, it was possible the battery could overheat when using the quick charge port, with an estimated 1% of the recalled cars at risk.
A year later the Nissan LEAF quick charging recall was expanded to include 2021-2022 cars equipped with Level 3 quick charge ports that use CHAdeMO connectors.
The class action lawsuit alleges Nissan knew about the quick charging problems and the fire risk before the LEAF cars were first sold but covered it up to make money from selling the LEAFs.
Nissan LEAF Fast Charging Lawsuit Dismissed
Nissan argued the plaintiffs still had access to Level 1 or Level 2 charging and none of the customers claimed they had any problems with those methods.
According to Nissan:
"None of the Plaintiffs plead any fire or other untoward event or report any damage to their vehicles, their components, or to any other property in connection with rapid charging, either before or after receiving their [recall] letter. In fact, Plaintiffs do not even show that their vehicles have any defect whatsoever."
Nissan also told the judge none of the plaintiffs contend they had to stop driving their vehicles, and just because one out of three charging options cannot be temporarily used does not mean a car is defective and cannot be safely used for transportation.
It cost $405 to file the LEAF class action lawsuit for more than $5 million yet none of the plaintiffs claim they had any problems with their vehicles. In finding the owners failed to show the LEAFs as unfit for safe transportation, the judge noted none of the six plaintiffs' vehicles caught fire or had any problems.
Judge John F. Walter also determined there are no defects with the fast charging, even though the lawsuit alleges the LEAF vehicles are "plagued" with battery and charging problems.
According to the judge, because something is an inconvenience doesn't mean it's defective.
Judge Walter further ruled it would be a waste of time to allow the plaintiffs to amend their class action lawsuit, leaving the lawsuit dismissed with prejudice.
The Nissan LEAF fast charging lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California: Proudfoot, et al., v. Nissan North America, Inc., et al.
The plaintiffs are represented by Singleton Schreiber, LLP, the Law Offices of David R. Greifinger, and the Law Offices of Howard A. Goldstein.
The Nissan LEAF fast charging lawsuit dismissal arrives about the same time a similar Nissan LEAF quick charging class action lawsuit was filed in Canada.