By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) -General Motors persuaded a federal appeals court on Friday to decertify a class action seeking to hold the automaker liable for knowingly selling about 800,000 cars, trucks and SUVs with faulty transmissions.
In a 9-7 vote, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati found too many differences among vehicle owners to justify having one judge oversee the litigation, including 26 statewide subclasses and 59 state law claims.
Class actions can result in greater recoveries at lower cost than if plaintiffs were forced to sue individually.
Neither GM nor lawyers for the vehicle owners immediately responded to requests for comment.
The case covered Chevrolet and GMC vehicles equipped with 8L45 or 8L90 eight-speed automatic transmissions, and sold in the 2015 through 2019 model years.
Drivers said the vehicles shuddered and shook in higher gears, and hesitated and lurched in lower gears, even after repair attempts.
The vehicles included the Cadillac CTS, CT6 and Escalade; Chevrolet Camaro, Colorado, Corvette and Silverado; and GMC Canyon, Sierra and Yukon, among others.
The decision reversed an August 2024 ruling by Circuit Judge Karen Nelson Moore for a three-judge panel.
Moore dissented on Friday, accusing the new majority of trying to erect “insurmountable barriers to certification for plaintiffs who file class-action complaints against national manufacturers.”
Republican presidents appointed the nine judges in Friday’s majority, while Democratic presidents appointed the seven dissenting judges.
The appeals court sent the litigation back to U.S. District Judge David Lawson in Detroit for further review, which could lead to certification of smaller subclasses.
The case is Speerly et al v. General Motors LLC, 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-1940.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Edward Tobin)
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