Kasowitz, on behalf of Ford Motor Co., Secures Twin Victories in Putative Class Action

Kasowitz Benson Torres, on behalf of Ford Motor Company, has secured two key wins in a putative class action lawsuit against the auto manufacturer in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts.  The lawsuit arises from alleged defects in automotive transmissions in certain 2017-2023 Ford F-150, Expedition, Mustang, Ranger, Transit, and Lincoln Navigators.  Plaintiffs seek to represent two putative nationwide classes, putative statewide subclasses for Alabama, California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Texas, and one multi-state subclass for those same states.
 
On Friday, March 28, 2025, Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV granted Ford’s motion to compel arbitration with respect to 18 named plaintiffs and stayed their claims pending arbitration.
 
On the same date, Chief Judge Saylor granted-in-part Ford’s motion to dismiss the Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint.  The order dismissed nearly all the claims asserted by the remaining 27 plaintiffs, including all claims for breach of express warranty and violation of certain consumer protection statutes for California and Illinois, as well as Plaintiffs’ request for injunctive relief.  The Court also denied Plaintiffs’ request for leave to amend their pleadings and granted Ford leave to file a renewed motion to dismiss the sole remaining fraudulent misrepresentation and Massachusetts consumer protection statute claims.
 
The Kasowitz Benson Torres team representing Ford is led by partner Hector Torres and includes partners Cindy Caranella Kelly and Stephen P. Thomasch, and associates Dariya V. Golubkova, Sabrina Baig, Christopher Goetz, and Emily A. Lowe.