Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (“VW”) has successfully opposed certain claims in a putative class action alleging that defective direct-shift gearbox transmissions are installed in certain Audi models.
The complaint alleges the following cars have the defective transmission:
- 2010-2015 Audi S4
- 2010-2015 Audi S5
- 2010-2015 Audi S6
- 2010-2015 Audi S7
- 2010-2015 Audi RS5
The plaintiffs allege the defective transmissions cause “sudden, rough, unexpected shaking, and violent jerking (commonly referred to as ‘juddering’ or ‘shuddering’) when drivers attempt to accelerate Class Vehicles and shift into 2nd, 3rd, or 4th gear and attempt to decelerate. They have asserted claims of breach of express warranty, violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, breach of implied warranty, violation of the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act and California Unfair Competition Law, and violation of the Declaratory Judgment Act. They also seek equitable injunctive and declaratory relief.
In July 2020, the court granted VW’s motion to partially dismiss the plaintiffs’ third amended and most recent complaint. Specifically, the court dismissed certain claims of breach of express warranty and violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act to the extent the claims were premised on VW’s marketing statements, as the named plaintiffs at issue conceded they did not intend to pursue any claims based on such statements. The court also agreed with VW that plaintiff Mike Madani’s claim for breach of implied warranty under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act was time-barred, as more than four years elapsed between his April 2013 purchase of his car and the December 2017 initiation of the lawsuit.
VW has since filed its answer.
The case is Mike Mandani, et al. v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., case number 4:17-cv-07287-HSG, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
