Vita v. Gen. Motors

• Docket Number: 20-CV-1032 (JMA) (ARL)
• Decision Date: 27 February 2023
• Parties: DENNIS VITA and FXR CONSTRUCTION, INC., individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. GENERAL MOTORS, LLC, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

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DENNIS VITA and FXR CONSTRUCTION, INC., individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated, Plaintiffs, v. GENERAL MOTORS, LLC, Defendant.

No. 20-CV-1032 (JMA) (ARL)

United States District Court, E.D. New York

February 27, 2023

REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION

ARLENE R. LINDSAY, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

This putative class action lawsuit was commenced by the plaintiffs, Dennis Vita (“Vita”) and FXR Construction Inc. (“FXR”), seeking damages and equitable relief individually and on behalf of class members who purchased or leased model year 2010-2014 General Motors LLC (“GM”) vehicles fitted with GM's Generation IV 5.3 Liter V8 Vortec 5300 LC9 engines (the “Generation IV engines”). Before the Court, on referral from District Judge Azrack, is the motion of the defendant, GM, for summary judgment pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure ("Rule") 56. For the reasons set forth below, the Court respectfully recommends that the motion be granted, in part.

BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The following facts are drawn from the parties' Local Rule 56.1 Statements and are uncontested unless otherwise noted.

1. The Parties

Vita is the owner and President of FXR Construction, Inc. (“FXR”). Am. Compl. ¶ 25. FXR is the owner of a 2013 GMC Sierra, equipped with a Generation IV engine which was purchased at the end of a lease from King O'Rourke Buick/GM in Smithtown, New York. Id. ¶¶ 26-7. Vita initially asserted that he was a co-owner of the vehicle. Id. ¶ 26. Vita now admits that he did not individually purchase or lease the truck. Def.'s Rule 56.1 Stmt. n.1. As discussed below, the undersigned recommends that all of Vita's claims be dismissed based on Vita's concession that he lacks Article III standing. See Pl.'s Mem. at 1, n.1. Accordingly, the balance of this report addresses only FXR's claims.

2. The Generation IV Engine and the Evolution of its Design

The former General Motors Corporation (“Old GM”) introduced the Generation IV engine for the 2007 model year. Def.'s Rule 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 7.^[1] The Generation IV engine has an active fuel management (“AFM”) system that improves fuel economy by deactivating four of the eight pistons when full power is not needed. Id. ¶ 8. The Generation IV engine family includes four models with different engine designs: the LC9 aluminum block engine with AFM; (ii) the LMG iron block engine with AFM; (iii) the LH9 engine without AFM and (iv) the LMF engine without AFM. Id. ¶ 9. This case involves alleged oil consumption issues found in the 2010 through 2014 model year trucks and SUVs with LC9 aluminum block engines. Def.'s Mem. at 3. Specifically, FXR alleges that the AFM system added to its Generation IV engine sprays oil into the engine's crankcase and onto the cylinder bores, creating an “oil tornado” within the crankcase, contributing to premature ring wear. Pl.'s Rule 56.1 Add'l Facts ¶ 8. GM disputes this contention. Def.'s Counter to Rule 56.1 Add'l Facts ¶ 8

At any rate, the Generation IV engines have three piston rings: an upper compression ring (“UCR”) that seals the combustion chamber, a lower compression ring (“LCR”) that assists with sealing the combustion chamber and with ring stability, and an oil control ring (“OCR”). Pl.'s Rule 56.1 Add'l Facts ¶ 1. The piston rings are coated with an anti-friction and anti-wear material and serve as seals that prevent oil from getting into the engine's combustion chamber and prevent blowby gasses (combustion gases that travel past the piston rings from the top) from reaching an engine's crankcase. Id. ¶¶ 2, 9. The parties dispute whether the coating used on the ‘278 piston ring in FXR's 2013 GMC Sierra or any of the other putative class vehicles was sufficiently robust. Id. ¶ 9; Def.'s Counter to Rule 56.1 Add'l Facts ¶ 9.

Indeed, according to GM, there is no evidence that Old GM's pre-market testing of the Generation IV engine revealed any oil consumption issues.^[2] Def.'s Rule 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 10. However, there is some evidence that by 2008, GM began to investigate an oil consumption defect associated with the Generation IV engines. Pl.'s Rule 56.1 CounterStmt. ¶ 11. FXR claims that this fact is very important because the issues raised in this litigation with respect to the 2011-2014 engines are very similar to issues GM was having with the 2007 model year engine. Id. ¶ 12. GM also acknowledges that its Current Production Improvement Team (“CPIT”) closely monitored field performance through warranty data and other measures in order to address any performance issues. Def.'s Rule 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 10. But it claims that it was in 2009, not 2008, that the CPIT began to see warranty claims for the 2007 model year vehicles with LC9 aluminum block Generation IV engines involving oil consumption. Id. ¶ 11.

As a result, at some point in 2009, GM asked dealerships to return certain 2007 LC9 engines to GM for “teardown” review. Id. ¶ 12. It also asked a group of engineers (the “Red-X” team) to assess the root cause of oil consumption issues in those engines. Id. Red-X is a problem-solving approach used by GM to identify the root cause in complex systems. Id. ¶ 13. To understand the root cause of the oil consumption issue in certain 2007 LC9 engines, the Red-X team compared the 2007 model year LC9 engines returned to GM by dealerships with complaints of excess oil consumption with 2007 model year LC9 engines that did not exhibit excess oil consumption. Id. ¶ 14. According to GM, none of the engines examined during this Red-X study had suffered a seizure event, fire, or any other potential safety risk. Id. ¶ 15. However, it is clear from the Red-X report that, among other things, some engines showed heavy carbon buildup (burned and solidified engine oil) and worn top piston rings.^[3] Pl.'s Rule 56.1 CounterStmt. ¶ 15.

The Red-X team also looked at warranty data for model year 2005-2009 GM vehicles with small block V8 engines and found: (1) that the 2007 model year had a higher rate of oil consumption than all other model years combined and (2) most oil consumption complaints were associated with vehicles manufactured during a three-month period at the start of production for the 2007 model year, when a higher tension oil pump spring was used in the engine. Def.'s Rule 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 16. FXR notes that GM's warranty data charts also reflect complaints beyond the first three months of the model year 2007 production. Pl.'s Rule 56.1 CounterStmt. ¶ 16. In addition, by May 2009, at least one engineer at old GM was looking into the possibility that the piston ring was contributing to excessive oil consumption. Barnett Decl. Ex. 15. Nevertheless, after GM completed its engineering analysis, the Red-X team concluded that the primary root cause of oil consumption issues in the 2007 LC9 engine was the location of an AFM oil pressure relief valve in the crankcase, and the secondary cause was the higher tension oil pump spring used only in the first three months of production for the 2007 model year.^[4]Def.'s Rule 56.1 Stmt. Id. ¶ 17; see Ross Decl. Ex. 5.

Following the Red-X investigation, GM made a number of changes to the Generation IV engines. Def.'s Rule 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 18. For example, at the start of production of the 2010 model year, GM changed from the ‘251 piston ring to a more robust ‘278 piston ring to accommodate E85 fuel standards.^[5] Id; see also Pl.'s Rule 56.1 Add'l Facts ¶ 10. GM claims the change resulted in a significant reduction in oil consumption complaints from model year 2010 forward. Def.'s Rule 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 18. In contrast, FXR contends that there is some evidence that the ‘278 piston rings also wore prematurely in the field, some as early as 30,000 miles. Pl.'s Rule 56.1 Add.'l Facts ¶ 20.

In 2010, GM also added a metal “umbrella shield” to the AFM oil pressure relief valve in the crankcase. Def.'s Rule 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 19. This shield directs oil away from the pistons and into the oil pan, eliminating oil spray onto the pistons and cylinder walls where it could be pulled up into the combustion chamber and consumed. Id. According to GM, this second design change sufficiently addressed the root cause of the oil consumption issues in pre-2010 Generation IV engines. Id. ¶ 20. FXR disputes this fact. Pl.'s Rule 56.1 CounterStmt. ¶ 20. It says that the first month after GM rolled out the AFM umbrella shield, its piston assembly replacement warranty claims increased and continued to steadily ebb/flow at a rate higher than that of the four months preceding the AFM shield addition. Id. FXR also points to a report dated February 2010, in which a GM engineer notes that the “piston cleaning procedure” was ineffective. Pl.'s Rule 56.1 Add.'l Facts ¶ 22. Nonetheless, it is undisputed that in August 2010, GM issued Technical Service Bulletin (“TSB”) No. 10-06-01-008, instructing dealership technicians to test, free of charge, 2007 and 2008 model year engines and to free up piston rings and install the AFM shield on those vehicles found to be consuming excess oil. Def.'s Rule 56.1 Stmt. ¶¶ 21, 23; Pl.'s Rule 56.1 Add'l Facts ¶ 21. The TSB further instructed dealers to reevaluate the vehicle for excess oil consumption after installing the new AFM shield and to replace the pistons and piston rings if oil consumption was still greater than 1 quart in 2,000 miles. Def.'s Rule 56.1 Stmt. ¶ 24. Finally, GM also installed the AFM valve shield in all Generation IV engines manufactured after October 21, 2010 and released it the same day as a service part for earlier-manufactured Generation IV engines. Id. ¶ 21. GM claims that once the umbrella shield and the ‘278 material piston rings were added, it saw a 75% drop in warranty claims for oil consumption in the 2010 model year Generation IV engine as compared to earlier years. Id. ¶ 25.^[6]

In 2011, GM...