Clark Fountain and Co-Counsel Convince 11th Circuit to Affirm Class Certification Against GM

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., May 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 17^th, 2016, the 11^th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Plaintiffs, that their case based on GM's misrepresentation of safety ratings depicted on the stickers affixed to GM's 2014 Cadillac CTS sedans was appropriately certified as a class action by the district court. (Case: 15-14442)

General Motors challenged a district court order granting a motion for class certification brought in an action pursuant to the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA). The district court's order certified a class comprising all those in Florida who purchased or leased 2014 Cadillac CTS sedans.

As Plaintiffs argued to the district court, Monroney window stickers, which appeared on these new vehicles, were intended to provide safety information and ratings assigned by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The window stickers displayed ratings on a five-star scale in six categories: rollover risk, risk of injury to driver in a frontal crash, risk of injury to passenger in a frontal crash, risk of injury to driver in a side crash, risk of injury to passenger in a side crash, and overall safety rating.

However, in reality, as Plaintiffs allege, the NHTSA had not actually assigned any safety ratings to the 2014 Cadillac CTS sedans at the time of sale to the class members.  This fact was acknowledged to these class purchasers in a letter to GM, and the manufacturer tried to assuage the purchasers with offers of On-Star service, satellite radio, and other perks.  When the NHTSA did finally assign the safety ratings, as Plaintiffs further allege, not all of them were five-star after all.

The case arises out of law set forth by the FDUTPA, which prohibits "[u]nfair methods of competition, unconscionable acts or practices, and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce."   

"These purchasers were misled by inaccurate information on these stickers, and relied on the five-star safety ratings in deciding to purchase these vehicles," attorney Don Fountain said.  "GM must be held accountable for what appears to be a misrepresentation that enticed innocent consumers to purchase these vehicles based on their safety ratings."

The attorneys at Clark, Fountain, La Vista, Prather, Keen & Littky-Rubin and their co-counsel look forward to litigating this case as a class action, because it involves purchasers of these 2014 Cadillac CTS vehicles all over the country.

SOURCE Clark, Fountain, La Vista, Prather, Keen & Littky-Rubin

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