Ford Super Duty Roof Collapse Lawsuit Partially Dismissed

Since Ford was ordered to pay $1.7 billion in punitive damages back in 2022 over an allegation that the roofs present on 1999-2016 Ford Super Duty models aren’t strong enough to hold up in the event of a rollover crash – a decision that stemmed from a wrongful death lawsuit originally filed in 2014 – the automaker has faced a seemingly endless stream of additional lawsuits pertaining to the same matter. Ford recently filed to dismiss one of those consolidated lawsuits, and now, a judge has made a decision on that request.

According to Car Complaints, that lawsuit – In re Ford Super Duty Roof-Crush Litigation – will move on after Judge Brandy R. McMillion failed to dismiss it entirely in court, though a handful of claims in the class action were tossed. “At this stage of the litigation, the Court accepts the facts as alleged to be true. Based on that premise, Plaintiffs have alleged sufficient facts to assert several of their claims. The Court notes that discovery may prove otherwise; but currently, Plaintiffs present enough to survive Ford’s Motion,” Judge McMillion said of her decision.

Ford’s argument was that none of the plaintiffs in this case claim they’ve been involved in a rollover crash in which their roof collapsed, and has added that Ford Super Duty pickups named in the lawsuit met federal safety standards at the time they were produced and sold. Judge McMillion did wind up ruling that plaintiffs can’t bring claims in 30 unrepresented states, dismissed all implied warranty claims, and agreed with Ford that statutes of limitations should be suspended or paused. Additionally, Judge McMillion fully dismissed the nationwide Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act claim, and partially dismissed a nationwide fraudulent concealment claim, a nationwide unjust enrichment claim, and three consumer protection claims. Regardless, other claims – including those centered around fraudulent concealment and unjust enrichment – will proceed in a total of 19 states.

“A federal judge upheld claims in a class-action lawsuit against Ford alleging it designed and sold millions of Super Duty trucks with dangerously weak roofs prone to collapse in a rollover crash. Attorneys are representing owners of affected 1999-2016 Super Duty trucks in the class action as well as parallel personal injury claims. The order issued September 30^th, 2024, green lights claims of violations of consumer protection laws, unjust enrichment and fraudulent concealment,” a spokesperson from Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, which is representing plaintiffs in this case, said in an emailed statement. “The law firm is urging consumers who own one of the estimated 5.2 million affected pickups to find out their rights in the class action and/or personal injury case, should they have experienced a rollover. The law firm pursuing the roof defect litigation against Ford has championed the two largest automotive class actions in history and has been awarded for its successful consumer representation against automakers.”