Santa Clara, CA: Ford Motor Co is facing a defective products class action lawsuit filed by customers who allege the automotive maker sold vehicles with faulty touchscreen systems.
The class action, which represents no less than nine classes, alleges the defect resulted in the failure of safety functions such as rear view cameras and functioning navigation systems.
U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen has certified nine different classes of Ford owners, divided by state: California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington. Each class brings its own set of claims related to breach of warranty, unfair trade practices, fraudulent concealment and other various other allegations.
According to plaintiffs, the MyFord Touch infotainment touchscreen systems often crash or freeze while the vehicle is in motion. The systems were introduced into Ford vehicles in 2010 with the promise of touch screen operating of audio and navigation systems, the ability to make phone calls, manage climate systems and play music from their smartphones. However, the systems have encountered a lengthy list of problems. In 2010, according to the suit, Ford reported roughly 400 problems for every 1000 vehicles, which was an improvement from earlier numbers. The systems add about $1,000 to the cost of a Ford vehicle, according to the plaintiffs.
The owners are represented by Steve W. Berman, Craig Spiegel, Tyler Weaver and Catherine Y.N. Gannon of Hagens Berman Sobol & Shapiro LLP, Roland Tellis and Mark Pifko of Baron & Budd PC, Adam J. Levitt, Jeffrey A. Almeida and Kyle McGee of Grant & Eisenhofer PA and Nicholas E. Chimicles and Benjamin F. Johns of Chimicles & Tikellis LLP.
The case is In re: MyFord Touch Consumer Litigation, case number 3:13-cv-03072, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
