Frequently Asked Questions about the In Re: Takata Airbag Products Liability Litigation (Economic Loss Track Cases)
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A Court authorized this Notice because you have a right to know about a proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit and your options and associated deadlines before the Court decides whether to give final approval to the settlement. The name of the lawsuit is In Re: Takata Airbag Product Liability Litigation (Economic Loss Cases), No. 1:15-MD-2599-FAM. Takata and several automotive companies, including Subaru, have been named as defendants in the litigation. This Notice explains the lawsuit, the proposed settlement, and your legal rights. You are NOT being sued. Please do not contact Subaru Retailers regarding the details of this settlement while it is pending before the Court.
The lawsuit alleges that certain automotive companies, including Subaru, manufactured, distributed, or sold certain vehicles containing allegedly defective Takata airbag inflators manufactured by Defendants Takata Corporation and TK Holdings, Inc. The inflators allegedly could, upon deployment, rupture and expel debris or shrapnel into the occupant compartment and/or otherwise affect the airbag’s deployment. Plaintiffs allege they overpaid for certain Subject Vehicles as a result of the defect.
The lawsuit claims violations of various state consumer protection statutes, among other claims. You can read the Second Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint filed by certain recyclers by visiting the Documents section of this website. Subaru denies that it has violated any law, denies liability, and denies that it engaged in any wrongdoing with respect to the manufacture, distribution, or sale of the Subject Vehicles.
On January 13, 2017, the Takata Corporation signed a criminal plea agreement in which it admitted, among other things, that it “knowingly devised and participated in a scheme to obtain money and enrich Takata by, among other things, inducing the victim OEMs to purchase airbag systems from Takata that contained faulty, inferior, nonperforming, non-conforming, or dangerous PSAN inflators by deceiving the OEMs through the submission of false and fraudulent reports and other information that concealed the true and accurate test results for the inflators which the OEMs would not have otherwise purchased as they were.” On the same day, an indictment of three Takata employees on related charges was unsealed. Takata entered a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud, as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
The recycler Plaintiffs filed their First Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint against Defendants on May 18, 2018. In response, the Automotive Defendants filed Motions to Dismiss. The Court granted in part and denied in part the Motions to Dismiss on March 9, 2021. The Court dismissed the following claims against Subaru: RICO claim for the nationwide class; Lanham Act for all Plaintiffs; Fraudulent Concealment and Fraudulent Misrepresentation claims for Tennessee and North Carolina; Violation of the Georgia Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act; and Violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. The claims remaining against Subaru were: Violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act; Violation of the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act; Violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act (dismissed by the Court but still pled in the Second Amended Complaint); and Fraudulent Concealment and Fraudulent Misrepresentation claims under Georgia, Florida, Missouri, Texas, and Virginia law.
On April 24, 2021, the Plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Class Action Complaint. This Complaint was corrected by Plaintiffs on May 7, 2021, and this is the operative pleading for Plaintiffs’ claims at this time. Subaru answered the Second Amended Class Action Complaint on May 21, 2021.
A detailed description of the legal proceedings, including motions to dismiss, is set forth in the Settlement Agreement, which is in the Documents section of this website.
The following Subaru vehicles (called the “Subject Vehicles”) distributed for sale or lease in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or any other United States territories or possessions are included:
Model Years | Make and Model | Inflator Type |
2003-2006 | Subaru Baja | PSPI |
2009-2013 | Subaru Forester | PSPI-6 |
2004-2011 | Subaru Impreza (including WRX/STI) | 2004-2005: SPI 2006-2007: PSPI 2008-2011: PSPI-6 |
2003-2014 | Subaru Legacy | 2003-2004: PSPI 2005-2009: PSPI-L 2010-2014: PSPI-6 |
2003-2014 | Subaru Outback | 2003-2004: PSPI 2005-2009: PSPI-L 2010-2014: PSPI-6 |
2006-2014 | Subaru Tribeca | PSPI-L |
2012-2014 | Subaru WRX/STI | PSPI-6 |
2005-2006 | Saab 9-2X | 2005: SPI 2006: PSPI |
If you are not sure whether you are included in the Class, you may call 1-833-630-4683. Please do not contact Subaru Retailers regarding the settlement while it is pending before the Court as the Court has ordered that all questions be directed to the Settlement Notice Administrator.
Class Members who did not exclude themselves from the Class released Subaru and the Released Parties from liability and are not be able to sue the Released Parties about the issues in the lawsuit. The Settlement Agreement at Section VII describes the released claims in necessary legal terminology, so read it carefully. For ease of reference, the full release section and the definition of Released Parties appears in Appendix A to the Long Form Notice. The Settlement Agreement is available in the Documents section of this website. You can talk to one of the lawyers listed in Question 13 below for free or you can talk to your own lawyer at your own expense if you have questions about the released claims or what they mean.
Peter Prieto PODHURST ORSECK, P.A. SunTrust International Center One S.E. 3rd Avenue, Suite 2300 Miami, Florida 33131 Tel: (305) 358-2800 URL: www.podhurst.com Chair Lead Counsel | David Boies BOIES, SCHILLER & FLEXNER, L.L.P. 575 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10022 Tel: (305) 539-8400 URL: www.bsfllp.com Co-Lead Counsel for the Economic Loss Track |
Todd A. Smith | Roland Tellis |
SMITH LACIEN L.L.P. | BARON & BUDD |
70 West Madison St., Suite 2250 | 15910 Ventura Blvd. #1600 Encino, CA 91436 |
Chicago, IL 60602 | Tel: (818) 839-2333 |
Tel: (312)509-8900 | |
URL: www.baronbudd.com | |
Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee | |
Co-Lead Counsel for the Economic Loss Track |
|
James E. Cecchi | Elizabeth J. Cabraser |
CARELLA, BYRNE, CECCHI, OLSTEIN, | LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN & |
BRODY & AGNELLO, PC | BERNSTEIN, LLP |
5 Becker Farm Road | 275 Battery Street, 29th Floor |
Roseland, NJ 07068 | San Francisco, CA 94111 |
Tel: (973)994-1700 | Tel: (415)956-1000 |
URL: www.carellabyme.com | URL: www.lchb.com |
Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee | Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee |
This Notice summarizes the proposed settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement and other information about the settlement and the Claim Form in the documents section of this website. You can also call the toll-free number, 1-833-630-4683 or write the Settlement Notice Administrator at: