Baranco

Baranco v. Ford Motor Co.

Good Law
294 F. Supp. 3d 950
United States District Court, Northern District of CaliforniaMarch 12, 2018Case No. 17–cv–03580–EMCCalifornia12,863 words

Opinion

Lead Opinion

Chen, J.

Plaintiffs allege that Ford manufactured vehicles with defective door latches which permit the door sensors to become contaminated over time, and thus to falsely signal that a door is not closed when in fact it is, posing a variety of safety risks. Plaintiffs bring causes of action for breach of express and implied warranty and under consumer fraud laws for failure to disclose a material defect. Defendant moves to dismiss all claims. As explained below, the Court GRANTS IN PART and DENIES IN PART Defendant's motion.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Plaintiffs allege that certain Ford and Lincoln vehicles contain defects in the door latch assembly that cause certain sensors to become contaminated over time and *957 thus to falsely signal that a door is open when it is in fact closed. See First Amended Complaint ("FAC"), Docket No. 18, ¶¶ 1-14. The affected vehicles are 2011-2016 Ford Edges, 2012-2014 Ford Flexes, 20131-2014 Ford Explorers, 2011-2013 Lincoln MKXs, and 2013 Lincoln MKTs (the "Subject Vehicles"). FAC ¶ 1.

The defect is inherent to the vehicles in question. In particular, the door latch assembly uses an integral electro-mechanical switch (i.e., a sensor) that detects whether…

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