Ford 360-Degree Camera Lawsuit Disputed In Court

The Ford 360-degree camera in some vehicles has proven to be a problematic part over the last several years. As Ford Authority previously reported, there have been several recalls related to the camera, and the issue has been impacting owners and dealers since the problems began. The automaker expects to take a minimum $270 million hit to its bottom line to fix the issue, although that might not be the end of it, since at least one lawsuit has been filed over the debacle. According to a new report by Car Complaints, The Blue Oval wants the most recent lawsuit dismissed due to the location where plaintiffs filed it.

The new lawsuit, Dorfman, et al., vs. Ford Motor Company, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, which the automaker took issue with, due to a preexisting lawsuit that was voluntarily dismissed in Michigan before being refiled in Illinois. The company says the location of the refiled lawsuit does not make sense because none of the plaintiffs live in the state. Ford alleges that the plaintiffs are engaging in “forum shopping” due to this lawsuit, and because of Johnson v. Ford, which is another lawsuit filed in the Illinois court. A plaintiff from Washington State, who remains a plaintiff in Dorfman, et al., vs. Ford Motor Company filed that lawsuit ten days after a similar lawsuit was filed in the Michigan court. According to the company, the new lawsuit is nearly identical to the old one.

The company wants the Ford 360-degree camera class action lawsuit to remain in the Michigan court, since “Ford’s principal place of business is Michigan, the material events giving rise to the claims occurred in Michigan, the complaint asserts claims under Michigan law, and Plaintiffs seek to certify a Michigan class.” However, the plaintiffs argue that the two lawsuits filed in Illinois should be consolidated in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.

The class action lawsuit claims that the cameras are prone to a number of errors and can completely fail, and that the automaker concealed the alleged defects and failed to adequately recall the vehicles equipped with the troublesome part. It includes three vehicles equipped with the part:

• 2020-2023 Ford Explorer
• 2020-2023 Lincoln Aviator
• 2020-2023 Lincoln Corsair

As Ford Authority reported yesterday, the company is also fighting a lawsuit regarding its 10-speed automatic transmission, and wants that class action dismissed since the plaintiffs have not stopped using their vehicles. It also said that the plaintiffs in that lawsuit never filed a claim while their vehicles fell under the new vehicle warranty.

We’ll be following this lawsuit closely, so subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford news updates.