In re General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation

257 F. Supp. 3d 372
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJune 30, 2017
Docket14-MD-2543 (JMF); 14-MC-2543 (JMF)
StatusPublished
Cited by71 cases

This text of 257 F. Supp. 3d 372 (In re General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation, 257 F. Supp. 3d 372 (S.D.N.Y. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

JESSE M. FURMAN, United States District Judge:

[Regarding New GM’s Partial Motion To Dismiss the Fourth Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint]

INTRODUCTION .. .391

BACKGROUND .. .392

LEGAL STANDARDS .. .394

DISCUSSION .. .395

A. Brand Devaluation Claims... .395

B. Damages for Lost Time .. .398

C. The Relevant Time Period for New GM’s Economic Loss Liability... .400

D. State Law Claims ... 404

1. Alabama .. .404

a. The ADTPA.. .404

b. Fraudulent Concealment .. .407

c. Unjust Enrichment .. .409

2. Illinois ... 409

a. The ICFA .. .410

b. Fraudulent Concealment ... 413

c. Unjust Enrichment .. .414

3. Massachusetts'.. .416

a. The Massachusetts CPA .. .417

b. Unjust Enrichment .. .418

4. Michigan .. .419

a. The MCPA;. .420

b. Fraudulent Concealment ... 424

c. Breach of Implied Warranty .. .426

d. Unjust Enrichment .. ,426

5. New York... .428

a. GBL Section 349.. .429

b. Fraudulent Concealment ., .431

c. Unjust Enrichment .. .433

6. Pennsylvania ... 434

a. Economic Loss Doctrine... .435

b. Manifestation ., ,436

c. The UTPCPL .. .440

d. Fraudulent Concealment ... 441

e. Unjust Enrichment .. .444

7. Texas .. .445 '

a. The Texas DPTA .. .446

b. Fraudulent Concealment .. .452

c. Unjust Enrichment .. .454

8. Wisconsin... .455

a. TheWDTPA ., .456

b. Fraudulent Concealment .460

c. Unjust Enrichment .. .461 CONCLUSION.. .461

INTRODUCTION

■ This multidistrict litigation (“MDL”), familiarity with which is assumed, arose from the recall in February 2014 by General Motors LLC (“New GM”) of General Motors (“GM”) vehicles that had been manufactured ' with a defective ignition switch — a switch that could too easily move from the “run” position to the “accessory” and. “off” positions, causing moving stalls and disabling critical safety systems (such as the airbag). Following that recall, New GM recalled millions of other vehicles, some for ignition switch-related defects and some for other defects. In this litigation, Plaintiffs seek recovery on behalf of a broad putative class of GM car owners and lessor^ whose vehicles were subject to those recalls, arguing that they have been harmed by, among other things, a drop in their vehicles’ value due to the ignition switch defect and other defects. [392]*392Their operative complaint — the Fourth Amended Consolidated Complaint or “FACC” — runs to over a 1700 pages and 7500 paragraphs, and includes claims under state law brought by named Plaintiffs in all fifty states and the District of Columbia.

In conjunction with the parties, the Court decided early on not to entertain a motion to dismiss all of the Plaintiffs’ economic loss claims at once — given, among other things, the number and scope of those claims; the possibility that the litigation would be materially affected by parallel proceedings in (and arising out of) bankruptcy court; and the likelihood that the parties could ultimately agree upon how the Court’s rulings as to some state law claims would apply to others, saving the need for the parties to brief and the Court to decide the same issues in fifty-one different jurisdictions. In an opinion filed almost exactly one year ago with respect to the then-operative Third Amended Consolidated Complaint (“TACC”), the Court ruled on the validity of, among other things, Plaintiffs’ claims in eight jurisdictions. Since that time, Plaintiffs filed the FACC and New GM filed another partial motion to dismiss, pursuant to Rules 9(b) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, focusing — by agreement — on the claims of Plaintiffs from eight jurisdictions that were not addressed in the Court’s last Opinion. This Opinion and Order addresses those claims and a few issues that are not state-specific (that is, that apply to all Plaintiffs’ claims) — namely, a revised version of Plaintiffs’ “brand devaluation” theory of damages, which was pled in the TACC and dismissed in the Court’s last Opinion; Plaintiffs’ claims for damages in the form of “lost time” spent having their vehicles repaired; and the viability of economic loss claims brought by Plaintiffs who purchased their vehicles before New GM came into existence on July 10, 2009, or who disposed of their vehicles prior to GM’s announcement of the recalls in 2014.

For the reasons stated below, New GM’s motion to dismiss is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. More specifically, it is GRANTED with respect to Plaintiffs’ repleaded “brand devaluation” claims, but DENIED with respect to Plaintiffs Iost-time-to repair claims. Additionally, it is GRANTED with respect to Plaintiffs who purchased their vehicles prior to New GM’s inception or disposed of their vehicles prior to the recall announcement. And finally, New GM’s motion to dismiss Plaintiffs’ claims in Alabama, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part, depending on, among other things, whether each state’s law allows claims in the absence of a manifested defect, requires a special trust relationship between the parties for a duty to disclose to arise, and permits plaintiffs to plead both contract claims and unjust enrichment claims. Ultimately, for the reasons that follow, most of Plaintiffs’ consumer fraud, fraudulent concealment, and breach of implied warranty claims survive, while the bulk of Plaintiffs’ unjust enrichment claims must be and are dismissed.

BACKGROUND

The underlying facts giving rise to this MDL proceeding are set forth in this Court’s prior opinions, familiarity with which is presumed. See, e.g., In re General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litig., 14-MD-2543 (JMF), 2016 WL 3920353 (S.D.N.Y. July 15, 2016). To the extent relevant here, pursuant to a Sale Order entered on or about July 10, 2009, New GM emerged from the bankruptcy of General Motors Corporation (“Old GM”) as the operative GM business entity and the largest car manufacturer in the world. (Docket No. 3356 (“FACC”) ¶¶291, 336, 873). Prior [393]*393to the bankruptcy, however, Old GM personnel learned of a defect with the ignition switches in certain car models that allowed them to move from the “run” to the “off’ or “accessory” positions too easily. See In re Gen. Motors, 2016 WL 3920353, at *3. New GM opened several investigations into incidents — including fatal crashes — involving the defective ignition switch, but ultimately did not recall any vehicles until February 2014. See id. at *4. Thereafter, between 2014 and 2015, New GM issued more than eighty-four recalls relating to more than seventy defects and affecting over twenty-seven million GM cars. Id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
257 F. Supp. 3d 372, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-general-motors-llc-ignition-switch-litigation-nysd-2017.