A Federal court has allowed claim based upon problems with the Nissan Altima, Leaf, Pathfinder and Sentra. The consumer claimed his 2013 Nissan Altima has faulty sensors that could render the air bags inoperative. He can proceed with his deceptive-business-practices claim against Nissan North America, a federal judge has ruled. Zaccagnino et al. v. Nissan North America Inc., No. 1:14-cv-03690, 2015 WL 3929620 (S.D.N.Y. June 17, 2015).
U.S. District Judge Louis L. Stanton of the Southern District of New York ruled that plaintiff Andrew Zaccagnino plausibly alleges that Nissan knew but did not disclose that a 2014 recall had not remedied the defect in all affected vehicles.
“That is sufficient to plead that those omissions were materially misleading,” the judge ruled. According to the complaint, the sensor software can register an occupied passenger seat as empty, deactivating the air bag and increasing the risk that an accident could injure the passenger. The plaintiff filed suit on behalf of all owners and lessees of the 2013-2014 Altima, Leaf, Pathfinder and Sentra; 2013 NV200 cargo van; 2013 Infiniti JX35; and 2014 Infiniti Q50 or QX60. Westlaw Journal Automotive, Vol. 34, Iss. 4, 34 No. 4 WJAUTO 8).
In refusing to dismiss the business-practices claim, Judge Stanton said N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 349 prohibits deceptive acts or practices that are “misleading in a material way.”
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