– A lawsuit against Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat has been dismissed after SUV owners alleged Fiat Chrysler lied about the Durango SRT Hellcat never being sold after the 2021 model year.
The class action lawsuit against Dodge alleges that Chrysler adopted the “classic bait and switch scheme” by fooling consumers into believing they were purchasing a collectible 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat.
“The Hellcat Durango will only be produced for one model year. When we transition the order books to the ’22 model year, the Durango Hellcat will be gone. So you only have one chance. The 2021 Durango Hellcat will be produced for only one model year, making it a very special, sought-after performance SUV for years to come.” — Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis
In subsequent press articles, Kuniskis was quoted as saying, “We’re only building them for six months” and 3,000 2021 model year Durango Hellcats quickly sold out.
“The most powerful SUV ever is available exclusively for the 2021 model year and comes with an MSRP of $80,995 (excluding destination price) from the US manufacturer.” — Fiat Chrysler cars
But in August 2022, customers were supposedly shocked to learn that FCA would be selling a 2023 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat. Owners complained that this would lower the price of their SUVs purchased as investments.
However, FCA argued that a July 2020 promotional video statement from Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis clearly said the 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat would be a “single model year run” that would not be produced in 2022. But Chrysler claims that at no point in the announcement did Kuniskis say the vehicle would never be built again.
FCA also told the court about a press article explaining that production capabilities for the 2021 SRT Hellcat had been reduced due to evaporative emissions requirements that would come into effect in 2022. This prevented Chrysler from producing a 2022 edition of the SRT Hellcat, especially at a time when COVID-19 was affecting consumers and businesses.
That same article also stated that FCA engineers were able to improve the fuel system to meet new evaporative emissions requirements, allowing the automaker to legally produce the 2023 Hellcat SUVs.
According to Fiat Chrysler, the very announcements and articles cited by the plaintiffs in the lawsuit prove that Chrysler never stated that the Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat would not be produced in a different model year.
As for the SUVs being “investments,” FCA claims that none of the plaintiffs claim they attempted to sell their SUVs or that the vehicles have lost value. And Chrysler also told the judge that none of the plaintiffs claim they stockpiled or restricted their vehicles to “preserve their investments.”
Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat lawsuit dismissed
Judge Jennifer L. Hall began with a breach of express warranty claim, which FCA said should be dismissed because the class action lawsuit fails to identify what “warranty” was made.
Additionally, FCA said the claim should be denied because the written warranty provided to buyers of the 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat clearly states: “
The plaintiffs do not dispute that a limitation of warranty provision is enforceable in the states where they purchased their Hellcats. But they argue that FCA’s public statements that it wouldn’t make Hellcats until 2021 should still be considered an “express warranty,” a contractual promise that it would reportedly only make Durango Hellcats in 2021.
The judge disagreed with the plaintiffs and ruled that the only express warranty is in the warranty booklet, and not in so-called public statements.
“The limitation of the express warranty terms in the warranty booklet is striking: it is the first line in the first section on the first page of the warranty, under a giant heading that says: ‘1. YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS UNDER THESE LIMITED WARRANTIES.’ And it is clear: it says that that booklet contains the ‘only’ express guarantees that FCA gives.” — Judge Hall
The judge also ruled that the class action does not allege facts that would prove a claim for negligent misrepresentation. This means there is no evidence that Tim Kuniskis made any statements about a one-year run in 2021 when he knew or should have known that FCA would be making more Hellcats after 2021.
“But Plaintiffs do not allege facts that plausibly suggest that, at the time Defendant said the 2021 Hellcat would be a one-year run, it was not actually intended to be a one-year run.” — Judge Hall
The judge dismissed the entire lawsuit for failure to state a claim and did not even have to respond to Chrysler’s request to drop the nationwide class action allegations.
However, Judge Hall ruled that the plaintiffs can amend and refile their Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat lawsuit within 14 days if they wish.
The class action lawsuit was filed by these 2021 Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat owners:
Stacy Phillips (Virginia)
Lawrence Willis (Texas)
Eli Negron III (New York)
Jason Van Genderen (California)
Christian Papana (Illinois)
Mark Hollingsworth (Georgia)
Jeffrey G. Heintz, Sr. (Florida)
The Dodge Durango SRT Hellcat lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware: Phillips, et al., v. FCA US LLC.
The plaintiffs are represented by deLeeuw Law LLC, Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman, PC, and Migliaccio & Rathod LLP.
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