GM Transmission Class Action Lawsuit Update: Court of Appeals

December 19, 2024 — The General Motors transmission class action lawsuit is back in court, this time in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

The GM class action lawsuit involves the 8L45 and 8L90 automatic transmissions in these vehicles.

• 2015-2019 Chevrolet Silverado

• 2017-2019 Chevrolet Colorado

• 2015-2019 Chevrolet Corvette

• 2016-2019 Chevrolet Camaro

• 2015-2017 Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV

• 2016-2019 Cadillac CTS

• 2016-2018 Cadillac CT6

• 2015-2019 Jim Cicella

• 2015-2017 GMC Yukon and Yukon XL

• 2017-2019 GMC Canyon

The lawsuit began nearly six years ago when owners filed a nationwide class action lawsuit alleging the transmission slipped, bucked, kicked, yanked, engaged violently and ultimately failed.

As is typical in U.S. class action lawsuits, one lawsuit will be filed for customers nationwide, but more will follow, eventually consolidating into a single class action.

In the case of GM transmissions, the class-action lawsuits were simply consolidated into one 900-page lawsuit.

There was another class action lawsuit filed for the 8L45 and 8L90 transmissions, but it was sent to arbitration.

The owner claimed that the automaker should have repaired the vehicle even though the warranty had expired. But the plaintiff also claims that any repairs performed by the dealer failed, leaving the owner with a defective vehicle.

According to the transmission class action lawsuit, GM knew for a long time that the eight-speed 8L90 and 8L45 transmissions were defective.

After years of court battles, a U.S. District Court judge granted class action certification, but only to customers in the following 26 states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia States, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania states, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.

This prompted GM to appeal the class certification ruling.

General Motors Transmission Class Action Lawsuit Update (Appeal)

GM told the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that the class certification granted by a district court judge was nonsense because most affected owners never had any problems with their transmissions.

The appeals court was also told how car owners described different problems with different models and different gearboxes, so all of them should not be allowed to be included in one class action.

However, an appeals court panel declined to make any changes to the district court’s certification of the class-action lawsuit in 26 states. The panel of judges found that even though the customers didn’t have any transmission issues, the lawsuit claimed those customers overpaid for their vehicles.

This simple allegation was enough to give the lawsuit class action certification.

The ruling led GM to ask the appeals court to reconsider its ruling on the transmission class action lawsuit. Specifically, GM asked the court to rehear the case “en banc.”

“En banc” is French for “on the bench.” The term refers to a special procedure in which all the judges of a particular court hear a case. The en banc procedure is used when the court deems a case to be particularly complex or important. Commonly used by appeals courts in the United States A panel is convened to review complex cases, and en banc proceedings are rarely used.” — Legal Information Institute

While most appeals court cases involve only a three-judge panel, an en banc rehearing involves all Sixth Circuit judges hearing arguments simultaneously.

GM said the Sixth Circuit will become a “magnet for class action lawsuits” if the full appeals court does not revisit the class certification appeal.

Although rare, a majority of the Sixth Circuit agreed en banc to rehear GM’s appeal, a decision that erased the appeals court’s previous ruling on certification of the class action in 26 states.

A date for the en banc rehearing has not yet been set. CarComplaints.com will update our website as more details become available.

The General Motors Transmission Class Action Lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (Detroit): Speerly et al v. General Motors LLC..

The plaintiffs are represented by The Miller Law Firm, PC, Cohen Milstein Sellers Toll PLLC, Gordon & Partners, Kessler Topaz Meltzer Check LLP, Capstone Law APC and Berger Montague PC.