Automotive Lawsuits

Franklin, TN: When you buy what is generally believed to be a high-end vehicle, you assume that all components are equally high-end. However that does not appear to be the case with Infiniti G35 and Infiniti brakes, which owners appear to be replacing at a frequency they're not accustomed to. 'Nissan brake' is not a pleasant subject amongst this group. [ Read More ]

Houston, TX: Thousands of owners of Ford Super Duty Pickup Trucks and Expedition sport utility vehicles will have a chance to make Ford replace the gas pedal in some 300,000 to 500,000 vehicles manufactured between 2001 and 2003, thanks to the relentlessness of attorney Grant Harvey and the firm of Gibbs & Bruns from Houston, Texas. [ Read More ]

Detroit, MI: At a time when talk of bankruptcy swirls about the world's largest automaker, General Motors now has a massive recall to worry about. It has been announced that as many as 1.5 million potentially defective cars have been recalled over a risk for fire. [ Read More ]

One prevalent design flaw concerns seatbacks, recliner mechanisms and seat tracks. Car manufacturers continue to ignore injury statistics that could be prevented by inexpensive design revisions to car seats that would protect passengers, especiallyin rear end collisions.

Other known design failures have included airbags, axles, door latches, foot pedals, floor mats, fuel systems, fuel tanks, lift gates, window glass, rollover tendencies, roof crushing, seatbelts, steering wheels, tire separations, and more. The courts define a defective product as one that is unreasonably dangerous as designed, or it is not safe for its intended use, as designed, or it is more dangerous than an ordinary consumer would expect.

In cases where the design is acceptable, there may be problems attributed to the manufacturing process of the vehicles. The manufacturer may have created a flaw in the product during the manufacturing process, whether by accident or by negligence.

Many car dealers use financial fraud to sell their vehicles. For example, you purchase a car and sign for a low APR. A week later the dealer phones and says you didn't qualify for that low interest - apparently the loan you thought you signed was "subject to loan approval". Then they ask you for more money and increase your payments. To avoid this scam, don't finance your car at the dealers.

Another trick, called the "Straw Purchase" happens when the dealer tells you you have a terrible credit score and need a co-signer. However, the dealer knows your credit score is so bad you would never qualify for a loan. He gets you to find a co-signer for the loan, but in the paper shuffle, it ends up that the "co-signer" is the actual purchaser of the vehicle.

Some car dealers can "forget to pay off your trade in". You trade in a car that you still owe payments on, and the dealer is supposed to pay off the loan for you and add the amount to your new purchase. Then the bank calls - the dealer has not paid off the loan, the car is still in your name, the bank is charging late payments to your credit rating - and you have no contract to prove that the dealer said he would pay off the loan.

The list goes on...