Overview

Case Number: 19-cv-11044

Practice Area: Consumer Protection Defective Products Automobile Defect Litigation

Case Status: Pending

Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan

Berger Montague serves on the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in a consolidated action asserting claims against General Motors, LLC (“GM”) on behalf of a class of consumers who purchased vehicles designed manufactured, marketed, distributed, sold, warranted and serviced by GM and equipped with GM’s Hydra-Matic 8L90 transmission or Hydra-Matic 8L45 transmission (“Class Vehicles”).  

The Class Vehicles includes: the 2015-2019 Chevrolet Silverado; the 2017-2019 Chevrolet Colorado; the 2015-2019 Chevrolet Corvette; the 2016-2019 Chevrolet Camaro; the 2015-2019 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV; the 2016-2019 Cadillac ATS, ATS-V, CTS, CT6, and CTS-V; the 2015-2019 GMC Sierra, Yukon, and Yukon XL, and Yukon Denali XL; and the 2017-2019 GMC Canyon.  

Case Details

The case specifically alleges that, unbeknownst to Plaintiffs and other consumers when they purchased their Class Vehicles, the Class Vehicles suffer from latent defects to the Class Vehicles’ transmission systems. The transmission defects afflict 8L90 and 8L45 transmissions manufactured between 2014 and March of 2019 and consist of the following two defects (1) a poor chosen and insufficiently validated automatic transmission fluid that caused the Class Vehicles to shudder at higher gears (Shudder Defect), and (2) a defectively designed transmission that fails to adequately purge air from valve bodies causes delayed sifting, jerking, lurching, and overall poor shift quality (Shift Defect) (the “Defects”).

On March 20, 2023, the Court granted Plaintiffs’ Motion to Certify Class Action and certified 26 statewide subclasses. Speerly, et al. v. General Motors, LLC, 19-11044-DML-DRG (E.D. Mich.), certified for class treatment, ECF No. 284 (Mar. 20, 2023).  The litigation is ongoing. 

Russell Paul, Amey Park, Abigail Gertner and Natalie Lesser are responsible for this matter. Berger Montague, with the other firms in the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee, filed an accompanying case asserting the same allegations for new model vehicles.  Specifically, Battle, et al., v. General Motors, LLC, No. 22-cv-10783, asserts substantially similar allegations but is pursuing claims on behalf of purchasers of 2019-2022 model year vehicles designed manufactured, marketed, distributed, sold, warranted, and serviced by GM, equipped with GM’s eight-speed Hydra-Matic 8L90 transmission or Hydra-Matic 8L45 transmission.

If you have purchased or leased a vehicle and experienced a defect which impacted the safety of the vehicle and has resulted in economic losses, please contact Berger Montague.  Our award-winning lawyers are available to speak with you free of charge.

About Berger Montague

Berger Montague is a national law firm focusing on complex civil litigation in federal and state courts throughout the United States. For over half a century, Berger Montague has played lead roles in consequential, precedent-setting cases and has recovered over $50 billion for its clients and the classes they have represented.

Berger Montague is headquartered in Philadelphia and has offices in Chicago, Minneapolis, San Diego, San Francisco, Toronto, and Washington, D.C.

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