— A General Motors oil consumption class action lawsuit in Missouri is no longer a class action at all.
Plaintiff Robert Riddell purchased a new 2012 Chevrolet Silverado equipped with a generation IV 5.3-liter V8 Vortec 5300 engine.
According to the lawsuit, the Vortec 5300 engines contain defective piston rings which lead to excessive oil consumption.
Without enough oil, the engine is not lubricated and the components are not protected against wear and damage.
The plaintiff asserts the engines can completely fail, and GM has long known about the allegedly defective piston rings.
GM allegedly omitted the excessive oil consumption problem from the advertising, and the plaintiff contends he would not have purchased the truck, or would have paid less for it, if GM would have disclosed the alleged excessive oil consumption.
General Motors has been sued multiple times over excessive oil consumption, but most of the class actions were dismissed.
The lawsuit began with these allegedly defective Chevy and GMC models:
- 2010-2014 Chevrolet Avalanche
- 2010-2014 Chevrolet Silverado
- 2010-2014 Chevrolet Suburban
- 2010-2014 Chevrolet Tahoe
- 2010-2014 GMC Sierra
- 2010-2014 GMC Yukon
- 2010-2014 GMC Yukon XL
But the current Missouri-only lawsuit includes all 2011-2014 GM vehicles equipped with generation IV 5.3-liter V8 Vortec 5300 engines. And the only remaining claim against GM is violation of the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act (MMPA).
The oil consumption lawsuit had already been dismissed entirely, but the case was appealed and remanded to the district court based on one claim.
In its motion to dismiss, General Motors argues against every allegation from the plaintiff, but Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. decertified the class action lawsuit based on when GM knew about the alleged defects.
The plaintiff argues GM knew about excessive oil consumption problems when he purchased his truck.
But according to the judge, the earliest General Motors could have known about oil consumption problems was October 2012, yet the plaintiff purchased his truck a month earlier in September 2012.
The judge ruled the plaintiff cannot represent a class of Missouri GM customers, therefore the lawsuit has been decertified as a class action.
The GM oil consumption lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri: Riddell, et al., v. General Motors LLC.
The plaintiffs are represented by DiCello Levitt Gutzler LLC, and Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C.
