Fazio | Micheletti LLP and their co-counsel, Kerr & Wagstaffe LLP, are prosecuting a class action on behalf of California residents who either own or lease a Ford Focus, or who have paid to repair or replace an ignition lock in a Ford Focus when they did own or lease that vehicle.

The case is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, in which the plaintiffs have alleged that Ford has fraudulently concealed the existence of a defect in thousands of Ford Focus vehicles, which causes the ignition lock to fail, making it impossible to turn the key or start the vehicle’s engine. And if the lock fails when the car is running, it can prevent the key from shutting off the engine. Although Ford has denied even the possibility of this occurring, Ford internal documents and the comments of Focus owners indicate otherwise (click here for an example of a consumer complaint).

Replacing the ignition lock can cost as much as $500 (and sometimes substantially more), and consumers have reported that they have had to replace the lock more than once in the same vehicle. Although Ford has acknowledged the existence and magnitude of the problem, it has taken the position that it need not provide a cost-free repair because the problem is not safety-related.  Focus owners who have experienced ignition-lock failure first-hand disagree, pointing out that being stranded in the wrong place at the wrong time can be quite dangerous.

Several news reports that describe the problem in a fair amount of detail have aired since this case was filed. For the complete story and the video that was broadcast, click on the name of the stations that follow: CBS5 in San Francisco; ABC7 in San Francisco and Seattle; and ABC7 in Washington, D.C.

For some insight into the way Ford addresses such problems, click here to read ABC7’s Seven on Your Side’s “Back Story.” Another report, at ConsumerAffairs.com, includes this observation:

While Ford diddles with its finances and holds erudite discussions about its manufacturing processes, it is alienating huge segments of its customer base with shoddy products and an astonishingly cavalier response to consumer complaints. In the last 12 months, we have received four times more complaints about Ford products than about GM or DaimlerChrysler.

 

Not only are Ford complaints more frequent than complaints about other brands, the problems that spark the complaints are major — ruined engines, disastrous fires and repeated ignition lock-ups being the most common.

To read the whole story, click here.

Approximately a year after we filed the present class action, Ford attempted to dispose of the case by claiming that the law did not support liability under any legal theory. As we have done in other, similar cases (including a recent case involving Volvo, a Ford subsidiary), we demonstrated that well-established law prohibits automakers — or any other seller — from fraudulently concealing from a defect that prevents a car from starting — and in some cases from turning the ignition key to stop the engine — and causes consumers to pay hundreds of dollars each time the defect becomes manifest. The court agreed, and denied Ford’s motion in its entirety.

Undaunted, Ford filed yet another motion, using the same arguments it made previously — in another attempt to dispose of the case. Recently, the California Supreme Court issued a ruling that removes any doubt that the Court’s decision to deny Ford’s motion was correct the last time, and that the outcome of Ford’s most recent motion should be no different. We have opposed that motion, and we are now awaiting a ruling by the Court.

The case we are now prosecuting involves residents of California only.  If you reside outside of California and have had to repair or replace an ignition lock in a Ford Focus, we’d like to hear from you.  Please contact us by clicking here.

Please be sure to include information about the circumstances surrounding that experience.