Gilles v. Ford Motor Co.

24 F. Supp. 3d 1039, 2014 WL 544990, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17732
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedFebruary 12, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 13-cv-00357-RBJ
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 24 F. Supp. 3d 1039 (Gilles v. Ford Motor Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Gilles v. Ford Motor Co., 24 F. Supp. 3d 1039, 2014 WL 544990, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17732 (D. Colo. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS

R. Brooke Jackson, United States District Judge

John Gilíes is so unhappy with the gas mileage he has achieved in his 2013 Ford Escape SE that he wishes to represent everyone in the United States who purchased the vehicle in a class action lawsuit. Ford Motor Company moves to dismiss on grounds that Mr. Gilíes’ lawsuit is preempted by federal law. I disagree and therefore deny the motion.

JURISDICTION

The Amended Complaint [ECF No. 13] invokes federal jurisdiction on the basis of diversity of citizenship pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Mr. Gilíes alleges that he is a Colorado resident, and that Ford is a Michigan corporation. However, he does not allege that the amount in controversy exceeds $75,000. The Court sua sponte issued an order to show cause why the case should not be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction [ECF No. 33], noting that plaintiffs only reference to the amount in controversy, a statement on the coversheet of his original complaint that he demanded “[g]reater than $75,000,” was insufficient. See Adams v. Reliance Standard Life Ins. Co., 225 F.3d 1179, 1182-83 (10th Cir.2000).

In response to the order to show cause, plaintiff indicated that his intent was to invoke 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(2) which provides that the federal district courts have original jurisdiction of any civil action where the matter in controversy exceeds $5,000,000 and is a class action in which any member of the plaintiff class is a citizen of a state different from that of the defendant. [ECF No. 34], He provided a complicated analysis of how, if a class of all 2013 Ford Escape SE buyers is certified, and they all (1) achieved 26 miles per gallon on the highway, as Mr. Gilíes claims he achieved, versus the allegedly misrepresented 30 miles per gallon, (2) drove half of the average adult driver’s 15,000 miles per year on the highway, (3) kept their vehicles for the average life of 10 years, and (4) paid an average of $4.00 per gallon, then the amount in controversy would exceed $5,000,000. Plaintiff offered to file another Amended Complaint incorporating this analysis if the Court wished. Ford has not [1044]*1044commented on the jurisdictional issue. - As I indicated in my last order asking for supplemental briefing on the topic of preemption, [ECF No. 39], I believe Mr. Gilíes has alleged sufficient facts at this stage, prior to class certification, to demonstrate the requisite amount in controversy under 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d)(2).

FACTS

Mr. Gilíes was in the market for a new ear in 2012. He alleges that as he surveyed his options, paying careful attention to fuel economy, one vehicle in particular caught his eye. According to Mr. Gilíes, Ford’s website reported that the all-wheel drive 2013 Ford Escape SE achieves 22 miles per gallon in the city and 30 miles per gallon on the highway, but it did not indicate that these figures were EPA estimates. [ECF No. 13 ¶ 18.] Ford’s 2013 Product Sheet made the same statements, he claims, again not revealing that the miles per gallon figures were EPA estimates (and adding that the vehicle gets up to five miles per gallon better than previous models). Id.. at ¶ 25, 30. Similarly, the dealer’s website touted the vehicle for achieving 30 miles per gallon without indicating that this advertised mileage was an EPA estimate. Id. at ¶ 26. Mr. Gilíes further alleges that he viewed a series of short Ford web videos entitled “Escape My Life!” that advertised the Escape’s miles per gallon without indicating that the numbers were based on EPA estimates. Id. at ¶27. Relying at least in part on these mileage figures and other boasts about the vehicle’s fuel efficiency, he bought the Escape.

But, he alleges, Ford promised more than it delivered. Based the 7,000 miles he had driven by the time of his Amended Complaint, his 2013 Ford Escape SE had averaged 25 to 26 miles per gallon on the highway at 60 to 65 miles per hour in ideal conditions with no headwind. Id. at ¶ 30. Contrary to statements made in the 2013 Product Sheet, he achieved approximately four fewer miles per gallon than he achieved in his 2012 Escape. Id. at ¶ 36. Based on these alleged discrepancies, he brings claims asserting (1) violation of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, C.R.S. § 6-1-101 to 1001; (2) negligent misrepresentation; and (3) fraudulent misrepresentation. He prays for actual and treble damages, attorney’s fees, costs, and injunc-five relief.

Ford responds with a motion to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) that makes five arguments: (1) Mr. Gilles’s claims are preempted by federal law, (2) he fails to plead sufficient facts to meet the plausibility threshold under Twombly and Iqbal or to meet the heightened pleading requirements under Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b); (3) he lacks standing to sue under the Energy Policy Conservation Act; (4) the Court should abstain from deciding this case under the primary jurisdiction doctrine; and (5) that the Colorado Consumer Protection Act under which Mr. Gilíes brings suit contains a savings clause that exempts Ford based on the company’s purported compliance with federal law regarding fuel economy advertising. [ECF No. 16.]

STANDARD OF REVIEW

In reviewing a motion to dismiss, the Court must accept the well-pleaded allegations of the complaint as true and construe them in plaintiffs favor. However, the facts alleged must be enough to state a claim for relief that is plausible, not merely speculative. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A plausible claim is a claim that “allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” [1045]*1045Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009).

ANALYSIS

Preemption Under the EPA Requirements

A short discussion of preemption will be helpful 'here. The Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to preempt state law. See Choate v. Champion Home Builders, Co., 222 F.3d 788, 791-92 (10th Cir.2000). “[A]n agency’s preemption regulations, promulgated pursuant to Congressional authority, have the same preemptive effect as statutes.” Id. (quoting Meyer v. Conlon, 162 F.3d 1264, 1268 (10th Cir.1998)). Federal preemption occurs in three situations. The first situation — -referred to as express preemption — is where Congress defines explicitly the extent to which its enactment preempts state laws.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Gamboa v. Ford Motor Co.
381 F. Supp. 3d 853 (E.D. Michigan, 2019)
Duramax Diesel Litig. Andrei Fenner v. Gen. Motors, LLC
298 F. Supp. 3d 1037 (E.D. Michigan, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
24 F. Supp. 3d 1039, 2014 WL 544990, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17732, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gilles-v-ford-motor-co-cod-2014.