A lawsuit against Jaguar Land Rover North America LLC (“Jaguar Land Rover”) alleging a defect in certain diesel-powered vehicles has partially survived the automaker’s motion to dismiss the case.
As detailed in the court’s June 29, 2022, decision, the plaintiffs allege the diesel particulate filter in certain vehicles are prone to clogging under normal driving conditions. This filter is designed to remove diesel particular matter—also called soot—from the exhaust of a diesel engine. They also contend delayed appearance of a warning light to indicate when to begin a filter-cleaning process that prevents clogging—that is, it allegedly does not illuminate until after the filter is 85% full of soot, which does not give the driver enough time to begin the regeneration process. In turn, the plaintiffs claim, a clogged diesel particulate filter can cause engine failure and presents safety risks.
The vehicles they allege have the defect are 2016-2020 Range Rover and Jaguar Land Rover vehicles that have the diesel particulate filter at issue. The plaintiffs’ legal claims include breach of warranty and violation of state consumer laws.
The court rejected Jaguar Land Rover’s challenges to the standing of one of the two plaintiffs. Evaluating Jaguar Land Rover’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s claims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6)—in which the Court assumed all well-pleaded factual allegations by plaintiffs as true and drew all reasonable inferences in their favor—the Court rejected a number of Jaguar Land Rover’s claims to, for instance, the possible applicability of the New York consumer protection law, certain breach of warranty claims, and a fraudulent omission claim. Although the Court dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims under the Federal Emission Control System Warranty, it did so without prejudice, allowing the plaintiffs to file a second amended complaint to attempt to address the pleading deficiency on that claim.
The case is Daoud Shaaya et al. v. Jaguar Land Rover North America LLC, case number 2:20-cv-05679-CCC-JRA, in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
You can read the Court's order below:
