Kasowitz, on behalf of Ford Motor Co., Secures Denial of Class Certification in Significant Win

Kasowitz, on behalf of Ford Motor Company, has obtained a significant win in securing a denial of a motion for class certification in a lawsuit against the auto manufacturer in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.  The lawsuit, O’Connor v. Ford Motor Co., arises from alleged defects in automotive transmissions in certain 2017-2020 Ford F-150 pickup trucks, and was originally filed by fourteen plaintiffs seeking to represent a putative nationwide class and eight statewide classes of consumers.  As a result of Ford’s prior motion practice, most plaintiffs and claims had already been dismissed, and the remaining plaintiffs had withdrawn their requests for certification of the nationwide class and four of the eight states.

On September 14, 2026, Judge Jeffrey I. Cummings issued a memorandum opinion denying the plaintiffs’ motion for class certification, which sought to certify statewide classes of all vehicle owner or lessees in the four remaining states—California, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York.  The Court denied certification of plaintiffs’ claims for breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, and violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, finding that the five remaining plaintiffs had waived their right to act as class representatives pursuant to the class action waiver provision in Ford’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty.  The Court then denied certification of Plaintiffs’ claims for fraudulent omission and violation of the four states’ consumer protection statutes, finding that the Plaintiffs had failed to adduce evidence to support their theory of liability and holding that Ford’s countervailing evidence was “persuasive.”  As a result of this motion practice, the remaining claims may proceed on an individual basis.

The Kasowitz team representing Ford is led by partner Hector Torres and includes partners Cindy Caranella Kelly and Stephen P. Thomasch, and associates Marcellene E. Hearn, Dariya V. Golubkova, and Emily A. Lowe.