LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – Ford is facing a lawsuit over claims that its PowerShift Transmission is defective.
Maureen Cusick, Tonya Patze, Patricia Soltesiz, Lindsay Schimdt, Joshua Bruno, Virginia Otte, Patricia Schwennker, Jason Porterfeld, Jamie Porterfeld, Abigail Fisher, Christi Groshong and Eric Dufour, on behalf of themselves and those similarly situated, filed a class action lawsuit on Nov. 12 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against the motor company for allegedly violating a myriad laws, including the Arizona Consumer Fraud Act, the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, Colorado Consumer Protection Act, Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, and breaching various contracts and for unjust enrichment.
The plaintiffs assert that Ford’s PowerShift Transmission is defective in its design and/or manufacture. The complaint states that the transmission "slips, bucks, kicks, jerks and harshly engages; has premature internal wear, sudden acceleration, delay in downshifts, delayed acceleration and difficulty stopping the vehicle, and eventually suffers a catastrophic failure." Ford has never acknowledged publicly that the defect exists, according to the plaintiffs.
They assert that Ford actively concealed the transmission defect by telling customers that the symptoms associated with the transmission defect were “normal driving conditions” since early 2010. Ford has allegedly issued multiple technical service bulletins to dealers but never directly notified consumers of known problems with the PowerShift Transmission.
The plaintiffs assert that Ford further perpetuated its cover-up by ultimately issuing two Customer Satisfaction Programs that offered additional ineffectual repairs without disclosing the transmission defect. The complaint states that the customers whose vehicles were supposedly repaired pursuant to the programs have continued to experience the defect.
Plaintiffs are seeking a trial by jury and a declaration that the defendant is financially responsible for notifying all class members about the defective nature of the transmission, to remove and replace plaintiffs and class members’ transmissions with a suitable alternative product; compensatory, exemplary, and statutory damages, including interest, and including the additional purchase cost of the PowerShift option; pre-judgment and post-judgment interest; attorney fees and court costs; a demand that Ford perform a recall; and any other rewards deemed just by the court.
Plaintiffs are represented by Jordan L. Lurie, Robert Friedl, Tarek H. Zohdy, and Cody R. Padgett from Capstone Law APC in Los Angeles and Russell D. Paul and Eric Lechtzin at Berger & Montague, PC in Philadelphia.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California case number 2:15-cv-08831-JAK-JPR