Nature of the Case

The Court has allowed or “certified” a class action lawsuit and your rights may be affected. The lawsuit alleges that model year 2013-2018 Ford F-150 vehicles were equipped with a defective brake master cylinder that impairs the vehicles’ ability to brake, increasing the risk of a crash. Ford denies any wrongdoing or liability for the claims alleged and denies that any Class Vehicle is defective.

This case is currently pending before Judge Gershwin A. Drain in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The lawsuit is known as Weidman, et al., v. Ford Motor Company, Case No. 2:18-cv-12719-GAD-JJG.

Am I in a Class?

You are a Class member if you purchased or leased a Class Vehicle in the state of Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, or Texas. The Class Vehicles are 2013-2018 Ford F-150 trucks equipped with a Hitachi step-bore master cylinder that was not part of a recall Ford issued in 2020, known as Safety Recall 20S31. The Class Vehicles include the following engine packages Ford offered in the 2013-2018 F-150 trucks: 3.7L TIVCT V6, 5.0L V8, 3.5L GTDI V6, 6.2L V8, 2.7L V6 (if gross vehicle weight is 6,600 pounds or above), 3.3L TIVCT, and 3.0L Diesel V6. The Class Vehicles do not include the following engine packages: 3.5L TIVCT and 2.7L V6 (if gross vehicle weight is below 6,600 pounds).

You can check whether you have a Class Vehicle by entering your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) HERE.

YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS:

The Court has allowed this case to proceed as a class action to allow a jury to decide the following three issues (known as the “certified questions”):

1. Whether the Class Vehicles’ brake systems are defective;
2. Whether Ford possessed pre-sale knowledge of the alleged defect; and
3. Whether information about the alleged defect that was concealed would have been material to a reasonable buyer.

You must now decide whether you will remain in the Class. You are automatically included in the Class if you purchased or leased a Class Vehicle in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, or Texas, regardless of whether you still own or lease the vehicle. If you do not want to be part of the Class, you must submit a request for exclusion by October 17, 2022, as described in this notice.

Your legal rights and options in this lawsuit are summarized below.

Option and Deadline

Your Legal Rights

Do Nothing

no deadline

 Stay as a member of the Class and await the outcome of this lawsuit.

If you purchased or leased a Class Vehicle in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, or Texas, you are already a Class member and you do not need to do anything at this time to stay in the Class.

By staying in the Class, you and all other Class members will be included in the outcome of this case, which would include any benefit if there were to be a settlement.

You and all other members of the Class will be bound by how the Court or a jury decides the three certified questions described above, whether favorable or unfavorable, and you will not be able to sue Ford separately to reach a different result as to those three questions. After the Court or a jury decides the three certified questions described above, the Court will decide the next steps in this litigation.

The Court has appointed a team of attorneys, known as “Class Counsel,” to litigate the three certified questions on behalf of the Class. You will not have to pay out of pocket for any of Class Counsel’s fees and expenses, regardless of the outcome of this case.

Ask to be excluded 

deadline passed

 Remove yourself from the Class and keep any rights you may have to sue Ford individually for the same claims.

If you ask to be excluded from the Class, and money or benefits are later available to Class members, you will not share in them. If you ask to be excluded, you will retain your rights to sue Ford individually for the same claims in this lawsuit, but you will need to hire your own attorney or represent yourself if you wish to pursue your claims in a separate case, and you will be subject to any legal deadlines applicable to those claims.

If you exclude yourself, you will not be bound by the outcome of the class trial on the three issues identified by the Court, because you will not be part of the Class.

To ask to be excluded from the Class, you must submit your signed request for exclusion before October 17, 2022. Please see FAQ 11 for further details.

 

Dates and Deadlines

Exclusion Deadline

October 17, 2022

Trial Date

TBD