A California judge has tossed out a potential class-action lawsuit against Honda, because it didn’t fall under the state’s tough consumer protection laws.
Turns out, the Acura RL equipped with the Collision Mitigation Braking System is supposed to warn drivers about a potential accident, tightening the seatbelts and applying the brakes automatically in anticipation. But about 20,000 plaintiffs claimed that the system failed to work in bad weather, or would deploy too slowly. The system cost $4,000 as part of a tech package, and the lawsuit directly concerns RL models built from 2005 to 2008.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals took away the chance for these consumers to sue Honda over the supposedly faulty system, citing that California law shouldn’t apply to cars that were sold or leased in 44 states. Judge Ronald Gould claimed that there were no “common issues of fact” among the plaintiffs. Of course, if luxury drivers expect to avoid collisions themselves, they already have the means to—without a complicated lawsuit to catch them if they mess it up.
Neither party had any comment on the decision.
Source: Reuters
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