Last week, the Honorable Federico A. Moreno of the Federal District Court, Southern District of Florida, denied various Motions to Dismiss made by numerous automotive manufacturing defendants, as well as Takata Corporation, in the largest automotive recall/class action case in history.
On October 23, 2015, an all-day hearing was conducted before Judge Moreno in the Southern District of Florida in which he heard arguments from manufacturing defendants (see attached caption), as well as Takata Corporation, seeking dismissal of the consolidated complaints on behalf of all owners of effected vehicles. It is contended in the complaints that, amongst other things, the various manufacturers conspired to conceal the defect of faulty and dangerous airbags in over 19,000,000 vehicles nationwide.
It is contended in the case and found to have been adequately pled by the court that over a period of more than 10 years, various manufacturers, during that time, became aware of concerns regarding the explosive potential of Takata’s airbags within their vehicles, and failed to reveal this to consumers/owners and took affirmative steps to avoid discovery of this safety hazard.
These claims, as well as others, were found to have been sufficiently pled, and the case will now move on through the discovery process before Judge Moreno.
Todd A. Smith, founding partner of Power Rogers is co-lead counsel.