— A Mercedes-Benz transmission class action lawsuit has been dismissed after a federal judge ruled the plaintiff couldn't adequately plead there weren't adequate remedies at law.
California plaintiff Terry Hamm sued over his now 16-year-old Mercedes-Benz CLK350 which had three previous owners.
He purchased his 2006 Mercedes CLK350 in December 2012 from a Toyota dealership, but he claims the 722.9 7G-Tronic transmission was defective from the time it was manufactured, as are all 722.9 7G-Tronic transmissions in Mercedes vehicles sold in California.
The plaintiff alleges the Mercedes transmission typically begins having problems outside the 4-year/50,000-mile warranty, with the primary problem of the vehicle entering limp mode while driving.
The class action lawsuit says a driver cannot accelerate or shift gears once the Mercedes transmission enters limp mode.
Hamm alleges his vehicle suffered the same problem which caused him to pay $1,051.18 to replace the transmission’s conductor plate and to reprogram the valve body.
Hamm tried to get Mercedes to pay the cost for transmission repairs but he was told the vehicle was long past its warranty period. The plaintiff argues Mercedes should have paid for the transmission repairs even though the warranty expired before he purchased the vehicle.
The plaintiff says the 722.9 7G-Tronic transmission fails when the conductor plate and valve body fails and sends the Mercedes transmission into limp mode while driving at any speed. The plaintiff also alleges a Mercedes owner is looking at a huge transmission repair or replacement expense, or parking the undrivable vehicle.
According to the Mercedes transmission class action, the automaker knew about transmission issues but concealed the defects from consumers which forced owners to overpay for their vehicles.
Mercedes Transmission Class Action Lawsuit Dismissed
Before the judge dismissed the last remaining arguments from the plaintiff, Mercedes had already succeeded in convincing the court to dismiss certain claims.
In its motion to dismiss the transmission class action lawsuit, Mercedes referenced its warranty data related to 722.9 7G-Tronic transmissions, allegedly showing the vast majority of owners didn't report any transmission problems while the vehicles were under their warranties.
According to Mercedes, the 0.13% warranty claim rate shows the transmissions were certainly not defective from the time they were built.
Mercedes also reminded the judge how the plaintiff wanted to represent other California owner of vehicles equipped with the 722.9 transmission, yet his history with the vehicle wasn't common to other Mercedes owners.
Mr. Hamm had purchased the 7-year-old used vehicle not from a Mercedes dealer but from a Toyota dealership. This allegedly means the plaintiff didn't have any direct dealings with Mercedes-Benz at all. And even the plaintiff admitted he had "only glanced at unaffiliated third-party websites" before buying the vehicle.
By the end, the judge ruled "claims for equitable relief fail as a matter of law because he does not and cannot plead facts showing he lacks an adequate remedy at law. Plaintiff’s SAC [second amended complaint] does not allege facts showing he lacks an adequate remedy at law."
The Mercedes transmission class action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division: Terry Hamm, et al., v. Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC.
The plaintiffs are represented by the Katriel Law Firm, Braun Law Group, P.C., and Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman, P.C.
