A federal judge A. Howard Matz of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California has granted initial approval to a settlement in a BMW cracked wheel class action claiming BMW of North America LLC failed to caution up to 26,000 car owners against untimely cracking in the alloy wheels. There are allegations against the automaker that the latter knowingly sold BMW Z4 vehicles containing faulty alloy wheels.
Deal in cracked wheels action, which was reached last month, would require the automaker to have the cracked wheels replaced, compensate eligible Class Members for the cost of repairing alloy wheels (if the issue occurred within the warranty period) and partially reimburse tire expenses on the replacement wheels. The retail value of replacing a wheel plus labor is $600, and BMW would reimburse up to $520 of previous replacement costs plus labor, according to the motion.
According to the BMW class action settlement, the cracked wheel Settlement Class will include:
“All residents of the United States (including Puerto Rico), who currently own or lease, or previously owned or leased, a Class Vehicle. The phrase ‘Class Vehicle’ is defined as follows: 2009 through 2012 model year BMW Z4 vehicles that were sold or leased in the United States or Puerto Rico to residents of the United States and Puerto Rico that were equipped with Class Wheels [BMW Style 296 wheels].”
Judge Matz said the settlement terms were “sufficiently fair, reasonable and adequate” to allow dissemination of a class notice, but noted that the agreement still must go through a final fairness hearing, which was set for Jan. 31.
The automaker’s failure to disclose the alleged defect to consumers violated California’s unfair competition law, Business and Professions Code, and Consumer Legal Remedies Act, the plaintiffs claimed in a fourth amended complaint filed alongside the motion for preliminary settlement approval.
BMW continues to deny the plaintiffs’ claims and does not believe it is legally liable for the matters in the litigation, according to court documents.
Lead plaintiff Barry Jekowsky originally filed this cracked wheel class action lawsuit in May 2013, alleging he leased a 2011 BMW Z4 that during the warranty period allegedly contained a defective alloy wheel, which eventually cracked. According to the BMW cracked wheel class action lawsuit, Jekowsky alleges he brought this car to a BMW dealership where he leased to vehicle to have it repaired. However, “BMW refused to allow its authorized dealership to replace the wheel under warranty, and required plaintiff to pay for repairs to the wheel as well as the affected tire.” Three months later, the plaintiff alleges a second wheel also cracked and again he as the car lessee had to pay for the repairs out of pocket. Jekowsky claims he paid over $2,000 to repair the two cracked wheels and the damaged tires that resulted from this defect.
