McCabe v. Daimler AG

• Decision Date: 20 August 2015
• Docket Number: CIVIL ACTION FILE NO. 1:12–CV–2494–MHC
• Parties: Ronan McCabe, Randa Herring, Jon Dustin Stone, and Minh Vo on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. Daimler AG, and Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Georgia

160 F.Supp.3d 1337

Ronan McCabe, Randa Herring, Jon Dustin Stone, and Minh Vo on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs,

v.Daimler AG, and Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC., Defendants.

CIVIL ACTION FILE NO. 1:12–CV–2494–MHC

United States District Court, N.D. Georgia, Atlanta Division.

Signed August 20, 2015

Cale Howard Conley, Ranse M. Partin, Andre Townsend Tennille, III, Conley Griggs Partin LLP, Atlanta, GA, Ian J. Barlow, Stuart C. Talley, William A. Kershaw, Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff, LLP, Sacramento, CA, for Plaintiffs.

Andrew Thomas Bayman, Franklin P. Brannen, Jr., Troy Masami Yoshino, Madison Hunter Kitchens, Stephen B. Devereaux, King & Spalding, LLP, Atlanta, GA, Eric Jonathan Knapp, Justs N. Karlson, Matthew J. Kemner, Carroll, Burdick & McDonough, LLP, San Francisco, CA, for Defendants.

ORDER

MARK H. COHEN, United States District Judge

This case comes before the Court on Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment [Doc. 110] (“Defs.' Mot.”). For the reasons that follow, Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

This is a putative class action brought by residents of Georgia, Texas, and Virginia based on alleged defects in the fuel systems of 2003–09 model years of W211 E–Class Mercedes–Benz vehicles. Defendant Daimler AG, a German corporation, manufactured the vehicles. Defendant Mercedes–Benz USA (“MBUSA”), a New Jersey limited liability company and a subsidiary of Daimler AG, distributed the vehicles within the United States.

A. General Allegations¹

The vehicles in question are alleged to have defects related to the fuel system, making them prone to leak gasoline vapor into the cabins and leak liquid gasoline outside of the vehicle, as well as causing liquid gasoline to be absorbed into the interior seats. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 2–3.

B. Facts Concerning Plaintiff Ronan McCabe

Plaintiff Ronan McCabe (“McCabe”) is a resident of Georgia who purchased a 2006 Mercedes–Benz E55 AMG on January 24, 2012, from an individual seller named Kale Strickland for $30,000. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 62; Dep. of Ronan McCabe taken October 24, 2013 [Doc. 114] (“McCabe Dep.”) at 17, 20. When McCabe purchased the car, it was six years old, had two prior owners, and had been driven approximately 53,000 miles. Defs.' SUMF ¶¶ 63, 67; McCabe Dep. at 19, 22, 41. There is no evidence that McCabe had any direct communication with Daimler AG or MBUSA before purchasing the car. Defs.' SUMF ¶¶ 65, 70; McCabe Dep. at 32–33, 35–36.

Strickland provided McCabe with the vehicle's maintenance records prior to the sale, which revealed that the vehicle had a history of prior gas-smell issues, had some related repair work done at the behest of a prior owner, and was the subject of MBUSA's 2008 voluntary recall campaign related to specific components of the fuel system of 2003–06 E–Class vehicles. Defs.' SUMF ¶¶ 72–74; McCabe Dep. at 39–45, Exs. 1–2 [Doc. 110–4]. There is no evidence to indicate that McCabe reviewed any of the records provided to him by Strickland. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 175; McCabe Dep. at 39. McCabe testified that had he reviewed the records provided by Strickland, although he was not sure, he probably would not have bought the car. McCabe Dep. at 40, 45. Although he did not review the records, McCabe took the car to Centennial Motors, a Mercedes–Benz dealer, for an inspection prior to purchasing the vehicle. Id. at 35–38. Based on minor issues identified during this inspection, McCabe negotiated a lower purchase price of the vehicle. Id.

The day after he purchased the vehicle, McCabe filled up the car with gasoline and, shortly thereafter, noticed an extremely strong smell of gasoline on the outside of the car and on the next day in the interior of the car. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 77; McCabe Dep. at 49–51. McCabe contacted MBUSA about the issue and was told to take it to a Mercedes dealer for diagnosis, but that the problem was not covered by the prior 2008 recall. McCabe Dep. at 53, 60–61. Additionally, McCabe wrote a letter directly to MBUSA about the issue. Id. at 61–62. McCabe took the vehicle to a Mercedes–Benz dealership, Atlanta Classic Cars, on January 26, 2012, where they performed some work on the fuel system (replacing the fuel sending unit) for $302.87. Id. at 54–55; Defs.' SUMF ¶ 78. Despite this work, sometime after the January repair, McCabe again noticed the same “quite strong” smell of gasoline. McCabe Dep. at 57–59. McCabe took the vehicle back to Atlanta Classic Cars on February 6, 2012, and they replaced the fuel tank for $1,632.25 and reimbursed him the $302.87 he spent previously. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 78; McCabe Dep. at 59–63. After the February 2012 repair, McCabe never encountered the gas smell again. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 79; McCabe Dep. at 75. As of October 2013, McCabe continues to regularly use his vehicle and considers it to be safe to drive. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 80; McCabe Dep. at 96.

C. Facts Concerning Plaintiff Randa Herring

Plaintiff Randa Herring (“Herring”) is a resident of Georgia who purchased a 2006 Mercedes–Benz E500 on April 9, 2009, from a Mercedes–Benz dealer, Mercedes–Benz of South Atlanta. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 82; Dep. of Randa M. Herring taken October 29, 2013 [Doc. 113] (“Herring Dep.”) at 16. At the time of purchase, Herring's vehicle had 41,000 miles. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 84; Herring Dep. at 17. Although there is no evidence that Herring had any direct communication with Daimler AG or MBUSA prior to purchasing the car, Herring did communicate with representatives of Mercedes–Benz of South Atlanta regarding the purchase of her vehicle from the dealership. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 83; Pl. Randa Herring's Resp. to Def. Mercedes–Benz USA's First Set of Interrogs. No. 6, attached as Ex. AA to Defs.' Mot. At the time she purchased her vehicle, Herring also purchased a certified pre-owned warranty which provided coverage until the earlier of December 20, 2010, or 100,000 miles. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 85; Herring Dep., Ex. 1, attached as Ex. U to Defs.' Mot.

Herring first noticed a “very strong” odor of gas in her car in the summer of 2012. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 98; Herring Dep. at 15, 87. At the time, she had eclipsed both the mileage (108,000) and date restrictions on the certified pre-owned warranty. See Herring Dep. at 63. On or about July 1, 2012 (within days of smelling the “very strong” odor), she took her car to a Mercedes–Benz service center, where service technicians determined that the fuel leak was coming from the gas tank, told her she would need a new gas tank, and quoted her a price of $2,896.64 for the repairs. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 102; Herring Dep. at 26–29. Rather than electing to have the repairs done, Herring decided to trade in her vehicle on August 1, 2012. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 106–07; Herring Dep., Exs. 1, 3, attached as Exs. U and Y to Defs.' Mot.

D. Facts Concerning Plaintiff Jon Dustin Stone

On July 7, 2011, Plaintiff Jon Dustin Stone (“Stone”), a resident of Texas, purchased a 2007 Mercedes–Benz E63 AMG with 31,340 miles from an individual seller named Satig Der Ohanessian for $37,000. Defs.' SUMF ¶¶ 1–2; Dep. of Jon Dustin Stone taken November 15, 2013 [Doc. 115] (“Stone Dep.”) at 12, 37–38; Pl. Jon Dustin Stone's Resp. to Def. Mercedes–Benz USA's First Set of Interrogs. No. 13, attached as Ex. II to Defs.' Mot. Prior to purchasing the car, in order to learn about the service history, Stone called the service adviser at the Mercedes–Benz dealership in California where the vehicle's prior owner had the vehicle serviced. Stone Dep. at 29–30, 41. The service adviser told Stone that the only repair that the vehicle had was related to the engine. Id. at 42. This repair work was taken into consideration when Stone negotiated the price he paid for the car. Id. at 43.

On September 30, 2011, over two months after he purchased his vehicle, Stone purchased an aftermarket warranty from NAC, a company unaffiliated with Daimler AG or MBUSA. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 7; Stone Dep. at 43; NAC Vehicle Service Agreement Application, Ex. 5 to the Stone Dep., attached as Ex. I to Defs.' Mot. (indicating the Stone's vehicle's odometer read 36,700 miles as of September 30, 2011). Stone bought the warranty not because of an awareness of the fuel system issues, but to cover any issue that may occur with regard to this used car. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 13; Stone Dep. at 64–65.

Stone testified that he may have begun experiencing gas odor issues as early as November 2011, the date he first took his car to a dealership, Mercedes–Benz of Plano and Park Place, for servicing. Stone Dep. at 59. At that time, Stone asked the Park Place dealer if they would pay for repairs related to the fuel system, and they informed him he would have to pay for it out of pocket. Id. at 63. Stone's second visit to the Mercedes–Benz of Plano and Park Place dealer was on January 18, 2012, when Stone took his car in specifically complaining of a fuel odor and fuel leak. Id. at 62–63. The Park Place dealer replaced the left side fuel-sending unit and installed a seal on the right side sending unit. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 10; Stone Dep. at 63. Stone returned two days later on January 20, 2012, with the same issues, and the Park Place dealer found the new sending unit was still leaking and replaced it, as well as the seal on the left side sending unit. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 10; Stone Dep. at 63. Still experiencing the same issues, Stone returned a third time on February 3, 2012, and the Park Place dealer replaced the entire fuel tank. Id. ; Stone Dep. at 64. The cost of these repairs, including the deductibles, was covered by Stone's aftermarket warranty. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 12; Stone Dep. at 64. Despite these repairs, Stone testified that he continued to experience a fuel odor in the cabin of his vehicle every time he got in the car until some point in the latter part of 2012. Defs.' SUMF ¶ 11; Stone Dep. at 71–72, 80–81. Stone did not, however, take the vehicle back to be serviced related to the fuel odor issue before he sold it on January 11, 2013. Stone Dep. at 72–114.

E. Facts Concerning Plaintiff Minh Vo's 2006 Mercedes–Benz...