Nissan Brake Defect Class Action Lawsuit Certified

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A California federal judge has granted certification to a class action lawsuit against Nissan North America Inc. over alleged brake defects in model year 2004-2006 Nissan Armada and Titan Trucks, as well as Infiniti QX56 vehicles.

The Nissan brake defect class action lawsuit  was initially filed in 2011 by plaintiffs Brandon Banks and Erin Banks. Plaintiff David Soloway is also part of the class action lawsuit. The plaintiffs allege that the affected vehicles are dangerous because the “delta stroke sensor, an integral electronic component of said vehicles which controls critical safety aspects of braking, is well known by Defendants to be defective and faulty, having a high and unreasonably high incidence of failure during normal and customary use.”

Specifically, the plaintiffs allege that the alleged Nissan brake defect causes drivers to be unable to stop their vehicle safely, if they are even able to stop the vehicle at all. Erin Banks claims that she drove through a red light at a busy intersection while her children were in the vehicle, finding that she was unable to bring her car to a stop despite applying the brakes in a reasonable manner.

Despite her efforts to get Nissan to repair or replace the sensor, Nissan reportedly refused to do so, claiming that the warranty had expired. As a result, the Banks were required to pay more than $950 to repair the vehicle to make it safe to drive.

In their class action lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege that Nissan was aware of the defect but failed to disclose the defect to prospective buyers. They claim that a Technical Service Bulletin dated as early as 2006 addressed the particular failure. “Rather than disclose this critical safety defect and recall affected vehicles as defendants should have, Defendants made a conscious decision to ignore the problem at the expense of the safety of its customers … and the public at large,” the class action lawsuit says.

On Dec. 19, U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton certified the Nissan brake defect class action lawsuit, which will include as Class Members all “consumer residents in California who own 2004-2008 Nissan Armada Titan (equipped with VDC) and Infiniti QX56 vehicles manufactured before April 1, 2008 … and all consumer residents in California who do not presently own affected vehicles but incurred monetary loss caused by the failure of the Delta Stroke Sensor in their affected vehicles.”

Even though some of the braking defects may have different causes, Judge Hamilton found that there was sufficient commonality in the plaintiffs’ claims that Nissan was aware of the defect but failed to notify consumers, in violation of consumer protection laws. She determined that the class action lawsuit should be certified because the plaintiffs adequately demonstrated numerosity, commonality, typicality and adequacy of representation required for certification.

Judge Hamilton also granted the plaintiffs leave to file a fourth amended class action lawsuit.

The plaintiffs are represented by Clayeo C. Arnold.

The Nissan Brake Defect Class Action Lawsuit is Banks, et al. v. Nissan North America, Inc. et al., Case No. 11-cv-02022, U.S. District of Northern of California, Oakland Office.

UPDATE: The Nissan brake defect class action settlement is now open! Click here to file a claim!