– Volkswagen argues that an ID.4 sudden acceleration class action lawsuit should now be halted and dismissed.
Connecticut plaintiff Janice Beecher and Massachusetts plaintiff Omar Hakkaoui allege that 2021-2023 Volkswagen ID.4 SUVs suddenly accelerate due to steering wheel controls and buttons.
The Volkswagen ID.4 steering wheel has the media system controls on the right side and the driver assistance system controls on the left side of the steering wheel.
According to the class action lawsuit, they are adaptive cruise control (ACC) buttons on the steering wheel capacitiveand a “light touch with the fingers or a low-pressure touch with the hand over the steering wheel controls is sufficient to return the vehicle system to cruise control at the last set speed.”
The lawsuit claims that the 2021-2023 Volkswagen ID.4 suddenly accelerates due to the haptic buttons/controls on the steering wheel that activate so-called adaptive cruise control.
But Volkswagen is said to blame sudden, unintended acceleration incidents on the driver pressing the accelerator instead of the brake pedal.
Motion to dismiss the VW ID.4 Sudden Acceleration lawsuit
According to Volkswagen, the two plaintiffs do not indicate what they believe the defect is and which specific parts are involved. Instead, the lawsuit only alleges what the plaintiffs claim are alleged symptoms or results of the unidentified “defect.”
In its motion, Volkswagen alleges that the entire ID.4 class action “consists primarily of vague and conclusive allegations that lack the essential alleged facts necessary to substantiate Plaintiffs’ claims.”
“Additionally, while each plaintiff claims to have experienced an incident allegedly attributed to the ACC controls on the steering wheel, they have not presented any facts showing that such incidents were caused by those controls, let alone a defect, and no plaintiff alleges that a dealer has ever identified a problem with his/her vehicle’s ACC controls.” — Volkswagen
The plaintiffs also never claim that they stopped driving their ID.4s because of the alleged gear defect.
Volkswagen begins with Plaintiff Beecher alleging that while trying to pull her 2023 Volkswagen ID.4 into a parking spot, her hand brushed the steering wheel and her ID.4 accelerated, crashing into a tree.
Volkswagen states that Beecher does not claim that she braked at any point during the incident, but that she took her vehicle to a dealer for repairs.
“However, she does not allege (i) that she told the dealer that she had allegedly brushed the steering wheel, let alone that it caused the alleged incident, or (ii) that she requested the dealer to inspect or repair her steering wheel’s ACC controls.” — VW’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit
The plaintiff further complains that she contacted Volkswagen about the alleged sudden acceleration incident, but was told that the vehicle’s event data recorder did not contain any information indicating that the incident had even occurred.
VW also claims that the plaintiff does not claim to have investigated the matter further or ever requested that its steering wheel controls be inspected and repaired by a Volkswagen dealer.
The VW ID.4 lawsuit also says the plaintiff experienced another sudden acceleration incident, but this time she hit the brakes to stop the SUV. But VW notes that the plaintiff is not alleging that the incident occurred because her hand brushed the steering wheel or activated the controls. She also doesn’t say she’s ever taken her car to a Volkswagen dealer for inspection or repair.
Plaintiff Hakkaoui complains that his wife experienced a sudden acceleration incident when they parked their 2022 Volkswagen ID.4 in the driveway. The class action lawsuit claims the front of the ID.4 was “scratched” and the garage door was damaged.
“But Hakkaoui does not claim that his wife touched the ACC controls on the steering wheel, let alone turned on the ACC or ever applied the vehicle’s brakes.” — Acceleration lawsuit VW ID.4
A dealer inspected the vehicle but found “no sign of manufacturing defects.”
Under the motion to dismiss the ID.4 sudden acceleration class action, express warranty claims should be dismissed because Beecher never requested and was never denied repairs to the steering wheel controls under the ID.4 warranty. And plaintiff Hakkaoui would fail to claim that he failed to repair a diagnosed problem with his vehicle.
Volkswagen further argues that the implied warranty claims fail because the two plaintiffs allegedly fail to allege facts to show that their ID.4 vehicles are not marketable. VW also points out that the plaintiffs have driven their ID.4s for years and still drive the SUVs.
The federal Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act claims would fail because the sudden acceleration case names two plaintiffs, not the requisite 100 plaintiffs needed for a class action lawsuit in federal court.
VW argues that fraud claims should be dismissed because the two plaintiffs allegedly fail to adequately plead or name the alleged “defect” that Volkswagen allegedly concealed. The plaintiffs also allegedly fail to establish that the automaker knew of a claimed defect before the plaintiffs leased or purchased their ID.4 vehicles.
Volkswagen also told the judge that the lawsuit should not proceed as a nationwide class action because the two plaintiffs live in Massachusetts and Connecticut. But the plaintiffs are said to have no standing and cannot represent a group of VW ID.4 owners or lessees living outside these two states.
The Volkswagen ID.4 sudden acceleration class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey: Janice Beecher and Omar Hakkaoui v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
The plaintiffs are represented by Longman Law, PC, Migliaccio & Rathod LLP, and Scott Hirsch Law Group, PLLC.
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