An Illinois federal judge is allowing plaintiffs to move forward with a class action lawsuit alleging that Ford Motor Company violated consumer protection laws by knowingly selling F-150 pickup trucks with defective transmissions. The federal court action seeks damages on behalf of those who purchased or leased a Ford F-150 pickup truck during the 2017 to 2020 model years with a defective 10-speed automatic transmission.
The plaintiffs in O'Connor et al v. Ford Motor Company (No. 1:19-cv-05045) initially made a number of claims against Ford, claiming breach of various warranties, fraud, negligence, unjust enrichment, and a violation of the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Law. A judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois had previously dismissed some of the claims, including those based on fraud. However, other claims were allowed to proceed, including that Ford had sold vehicles with defective transmissions in violation of Massachusetts law.
Ford asked the court to issue a judgment on the pleadings in its favor regarding the claim that it sold vehicles in violation of the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Law, known as Chapter 93A. A judgment on the pleadings is a court decision entered before trial based on the parties’ written claims and defenses. Judge Jeffrey I. Cummings issued a memorandum opinion and order Jan. 26 denying Ford’s motion after finding the plaintiffs had sufficiently stated a claim under the Massachusetts law.
Transmission Introduced in 2016
According to the law firm representing the plaintiffs, Wallace Miller, 10R80 Ford transmission is a 10-speed automatic transmission that was launched in 2016. It was used in 2017 model vehicles, including the Ford F-150, Ford Mustang, Ford Ranger, Ford Expedition, Ford Transit, and Lincoln Navigator.
The lawsuit claims customers began reporting issues with gear shifting to Ford shortly after the new transmission was launched. Dozens of consumer complaints raising safety concerns about Ford’s 10R80 transmissions were submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration beginning in 2017 and the company has issued a number of technical service bulletins to address issues with the transmissions. However, the lawsuit claims Ford has refused to replace or repair the transmission problems.
Claims of the Massachusetts Plaintiff
The court is considering the Chapter 93A state law claims because one of the five named plaintiffs in the case, Michael Barcelona, is a Massachusetts state resident who purchased a 2018 Ford F-150 Crew Cab with a 10-speed automatic transmission. Barcelona contends that he purchased the Ford truck as a safe, reliable vehicle after conducting online research.
Barcelona stated that the Ford website claimed the transmission provided better fuel performance. He contends that due to sacrifices to improve fuel economy, the Ford 10-speed transmission and powertrain actually performed worse than the transmissions of previous models.
Following six months of research, Barcelona visited a Ford dealership and the sales representative never said there were any issues with the vehicle’s transmission while discussing the performance of the F-150 trucks. He purchased an F-150 in June of 2018 for just under $46,000. He quickly noticed that the transmission was slipping, making hard shifts, and jerking while he was driving. Barcelona also heard a clunking noise when the truck came to a stop.
Barcelona claims that at the time he purchased his vehicle, Ford knew its F-150 truck transmission defects, but that those defects were not disclosed to him and that he relied on the company’s misrepresentations. He maintains that he would not have purchased the Ford vehicle, or would have asked for a discount, if he had known of the problems.
Chapter 93A claims not based on fraud
Ford maintained that it is entitled to a judgment on the pleadings with regard to the plaintiffs’ Chapter 93A claims because they were derived from the fraud claims that were previously dismissed. Judge Cummings disagreed, finding the plaintiffs had a Chapter 93A claim that was independent of the dismissed fraud claims.
The judge noted that Barcelona maintained that Ford was violating Chapter 93A by holding out to the public that its vehicles were safe to drive on the road and not warning customers of a known defect. Cummings also observed that Ford’s inability to fix the transmission issues that popped up soon after Barcelona purchased his truck could also be addressed under Chapter 93A.
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