In a significant legal development, General Motors (GM) has been directed by a federal appeals court to confront a class action lawsuit alleging it breached the laws of 26 states. The lawsuit claims GM knowingly sold hundreds of thousands of vehicles with defective transmissions.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that a lower court had the authority to allow a collective legal action against GM concerning its Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC models equipped with 8L45 or 8L90 eight-speed automatic transmissions from the 2015 to 2019 model years.
Drivers have reported persistent issues with these vehicles, including shuddering and shaking in higher gears, as well as hesitation and lurching in lower gears, even after repairs. The lawsuit accuses GM of misleading dealers into assuring customers that these harsh shifts were normal.
The litigation affects approximately 800,000 vehicles, with 514,000 falling under the certified class. The affected models include the Cadillac CTS, CT6, and Escalade; Chevrolet Camaro, Colorado, Corvette, and Silverado; and GMC Canyon, Sierra, and Yukon.
GM argued that many class members had not experienced these issues and thus lacked the standing to sue. They also claimed the diverse experiences among class members made a collective lawsuit impractical. However, Circuit Judge Karen Nelson Moore determined that overpaying for allegedly defective vehicles was sufficient to establish standing for the class action. She also ruled that the specifics of each plaintiff’s experience with the transmission issues were irrelevant to the core issue of GM’s alleged concealment of defects.
The court rejected GM’s attempts to have the case moved to arbitration and returned it to U.S. District Judge David Lawson in Detroit, who had previously certified the classes in March 2023.
Ted Leopold of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, representing the drivers, expressed optimism about the forthcoming trial, stating, “We look forward to holding GM accountable before a Michigan jury.”
The case, Speerly et al v. General Motors LLC, is now set to proceed as a class action.
