Nissan convinces US court to revoke certification of brake failure class action suits

Nissan persuaded a federal appeals court on Friday to decertify 10 class-action lawsuits accusing the Japanese automaker of selling cars and SUVs with defective automatic emergency braking systems that cause vehicles to stop suddenly for no reason.

The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati said it was improper to allow drivers of 14 Nissan models to sue as a class under the laws of 10 separate states, simply claiming their brake systems were not working.

Drivers claimed they were subjected to “phantom” activations of the systems on low overpasses, car parks and railway crossings rather than in situations where collisions could be imminent.

But Chief Judge Jeffrey Sutton, writing for a three-judge panel, said some drivers may have never braked suddenly or sought repairs before.

He also said Nissan created “different” software upgrades for different models that fixed the problem for some drivers, suggesting there was no common defect.

“Analyzing the various manifestations of alleged fault is necessary to evaluate whether the combined evidence could vindicate plaintiffs or Nissan on a class-wide basis,” Sutton wrote.

Class actions allow plaintiffs to potentially obtain greater compensation at lower costs than if they had to file individual lawsuits.

The lawsuit covers Nissan’s Rogue from 2017 to 2020, Rogue Sport from 2017 to 2021, Altima from 2019 to 2021, and Kicks from 2020 to 2021 .

The 10 states are California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.

Lawyers for the drivers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Nissan and its lawyers did not immediately respond to similar requests.

The appeals court remanded the case to a trial judge in Nashville, Tennessee, for further proceedings and allowed new evidence to potentially support class certification. Nissan has factories in Smyrna and Decherd, Tennessee.