General Motors (GM) must face a class action lawsuit alleging that it violated the laws of 26 U.S. states by knowingly selling hundreds of thousands of vehicles with faulty transmissions, according to a ruling by a federal appeals court.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a decision allowing drivers to sue in groups over Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC vehicles equipped with 8L45 or 8L90 eight-speed automatic transmissions, which were sold between the 2015 and 2019 model years.
The drivers allege that these vehicles suffer from transmission issues, including shuddering and shaking in higher gears and hesitation and lurching in lower gears, even after attempts at repair. They also claim that GM instructed dealers to reassure customers that harsh shifts were “normal.”
GM did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling, which was issued by a three-judge panel from the Cincinnati-based appeals court. Class action lawsuits, like this one, can provide greater recoveries at lower costs compared to individual lawsuits.
The litigation involves approximately 800,000 vehicles, including 514,000 in the certified classes. The vehicles at issue include models such as the Cadillac CTS, CT6, and Escalade; Chevrolet Camaro, Colorado, Corvette, and Silverado; and GMC Canyon, Sierra, and Yukon.
GM opposed the class certification, arguing that most class members had not experienced problems with their vehicles and therefore lacked standing to sue. The company also claimed that there were too many differences among class members to justify a group lawsuit.
However, Circuit Judge Karen Nelson Moore ruled that overpaying for allegedly defective vehicles was sufficient to establish standing.
She added that the specific experiences of individual plaintiffs with the shuddering or shifting issues were irrelevant to the broader claims that GM concealed known defects and that drivers would have considered such information important.
The court also dismissed GM’s argument that many of the potential claims should be resolved through arbitration, sending the case back to U.S. District Judge David Lawson in Detroit, who certified the classes in March 2023.
“We look forward to holding GM accountable before a Michigan jury,” said Ted Leopold, a partner at Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, who represents the drivers.
The case is Speerly et al v. General Motors LLC, 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-1940.
