Tag Archives: class action lawsuit

Battery-gate? Warranty-gate? Charge-gate? Tesla Under Fire After Series Of Class Action Lawsuits

IRVINE, Calif. /ScoopCloud/ -- The Law Offices of Edward C. Chen have filed a series of class action lawsuits against Tesla, Inc. for issues relating to the recent battery fires that have occurred worldwide and for Tesla's used/certified pre-owned car sales.

The first lawsuit, titled "Hugh Nguyen v. Tesla, Inc.," case number 8:19-cv-01422-JLS-JDE, filed in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, arose after Tesla's continuous denial of a battery replacement for Nguyen's Tesla Model S 60 vehicle.

Our client purchased a used, certified pre-owned (CPO) Tesla vehicle in late 2017. Despite promising a full inspection of the car prior to purchase, Tesla failed to disclose any material information regarding any inspection that was done and failed to inform Nguyen that his car was only capable of reaching 166 miles at maximum battery capacity as opposed to the EPA rated 210 mile estimate for the same year's model.

After nearly two years of back-and-forth with Tesla, it was also discovered that Tesla had potentially failed to display and provide purchasers of its used vehicles with the written "Buyer's Guide" form as required by federal law. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the governmental authority tasked with enforcing the law and can fine offenders and used-car dealers like Tesla with penalties of up to $42,350 per violation.

It is estimated that over 13,000 used, certified pre-owned, Tesla vehicles were sold by Tesla beginning from April 2015. Based on these numbers alone, Tesla would therefore be subject to a payment of penalties for $500 million - or more if the FTC were to seek the maximum penalty per violation in a separate enforcement action.

The second lawsuit, titled "David Rasmussen v. Tesla, Inc.," case number 5:19-cv-04596-VDM was filed in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of California and arose after owners of affected Tesla vehicles began reporting significant range decreases following a series of software updates in May 2019 that appear to have bene issued by Tesla in response to recent cases of battery fires worldwide.

After several months of investigating potential causes for the range decrease, it appears that the most likely culprit is that Tesla discovered a widespread defect involving its Model S and Model X vehicles and knew that their vehicles would be at a high risk of catching on fire if charged to 4.2 volts, or 100% capacity, as advertised and sold to customers.

Lead counsel Edward Chen commented, "Tesla advertises these cars by their battery capacities like 60, 70, 75, 85 kWH etc. Tesla sold these cars with the advertised capacities and knew that they wouldn't be safe if charged fully to max battery capacity. Tesla knew that they shipped out and delivered cars with this defect, yet they failed to inform customers of the defect. They thought that they could sneak around disclosure by using software updates to limit the ability to fully charge the batteries. What happened after, of course, is that owners like [David] my client saw an immediate range drop of approximately 30 miles or so after updating his car with Tesla's updates [2019.16.1 and 2019.16.2].

What's even worse is Tesla's failure to acknowledge the fact that their own software updates limited the battery cap and throttled performance of their cars. They knew this and blatantly lied to people like [David] my client when he tried to get his battery replaced under warranty.

Tesla told customers like David that the range loss he was experiencing was 'normal' despite the obvious fact that a loss in range of approximately 30 miles suddenly and practically overnight is not normal degradation by any means. This is no different than what Apple did to their older iPhones in the throttling and performance case.

Tesla has taken the official stance that it issued these updates to 'improve the longevity of these batteries', when all that really means is that they are attempting to mitigate their liability and are seeking to avoid having to replace all of these batteries under warranty. This is no different than what Apple did by throttling the performance of its older iPhones."

The 19-count complaint alleges that Tesla violated the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act 18 U.S.C 1030, Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act 15 U.S.C 2030 and various violations state law and includes fraud causes of action.

If you or someone you know has purchased a car from Tesla and have been denied a rightful under-warranty repair, you may be able to recover a portion of costs and damages by joining in the suit as class member.

For more information: https://edchenlaw.com/.

About the Law Offices of Edward C. Chen:

Based in Irvine, California, the Law Offices of Edward C. Chen is Southern California's top choice when it comes to helping clients achieve success with their legal matters. The firm is founded by Traditional Values that allow for Creative Solutions in order to achieve the most Effective Results.

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The Law Offices of Edward C. Chen have filed a series of class action lawsuits against Tesla, Inc. for issues relating to the recent battery fires that have occurred worldwide and for Tesla's used/certified pre-owned car sales.

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Anthem Data Breach Sparks Class Action Lawsuit, Weitz & Luxenberg Announces

class action lawsuit

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Feb. 18, 2015 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) -- Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., today announced the filing of a class action lawsuit against the nation's second-largest health insurer, Indianapolis-based Anthem Inc., following disclosure earlier this month that the private information of 80 million Anthem customers was stolen in a massive online data breach.

Over a six-week span beginning in mid-December, hackers siphoned from Anthem's computers a wealth of customer personal information, including names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, employment records and income data, the law firm said.

Security experts believe devastating financial losses may loom for Anthem customers as identity thieves use the ill-gotten information to ransack checking and savings accounts, abscond with tax refunds, and apply for credit cards, mortgages and bank loans in their victims' names, Weitz & Luxenberg said.

"Already, victims of the data breach are being targeted with email phishing scams from criminals sending fake but real-looking official Anthem correspondences," said Robin L. Greenwald, who heads Weitz & Luxenberg's Environmental, Toxic Tort & Consumer Protection Unit.

Details of the Anthem Data Breach Lawsuit:

Weitz & Luxenberg's class action alleges Anthem was negligent and in violation of California consumer protection laws.

"We intend to hold Anthem responsible for neglecting to do what was reasonable and prudent to safeguard its customers' personal information," said Greenwald.

The complaint asks the court for an order forcing Anthem to take all necessary steps to prevent future data breaches and for an unspecified amount of monetary compensation to make up for the financial losses members of the class suffer as a result of the data breach.

The class action was filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The lawsuit names a Santa Clarita, California, mother of two as its representative plaintiff. She has been an Anthem customer for 10 years.

According to the filing, data thieves pilfered personal information on all 37 million of Anthem's current policy holders as well as the private data on some 43 million former customers - a total of 80 million consumers.

"This theft is the result of Anthem's failure to implement cyber security measures commensurate with the duties it undertook by storing vast quantities of sensitive customer data," said Greenwald.

"Every business that collects and stores sensitive information about its customers has a duty to safeguard that information and ensure it is secure and remains private," Greenwald added.

"The data collected and stored by health insurance companies are among the most highly sensitive personally identifiable information," she continued. "Health insurance companies, in turn, bear the crucial responsibility to protect this data from compromise and theft."

Anthem Data Breach Exposed Social Security Numbers:

The theft of Social Security numbers is profoundly worrisome because they may be used by identity thieves to engage in a wide range of financial transactions in the name of unsuspecting others, Greenwald explained.

Worse, unlike the process of canceling and replacing a stolen credit card, blocking the use of a stolen Social Security number by an identity thief is no simple matter, she said.

On the list of crimes that may be committed with a stolen Social Security number is tax fraud.

This possibility prompted the head of one state's tax-collection agency to recommend that Anthem customers not postpone filing their taxes for 2014, lest fraudsters beat them to it and snatch away their refunds, said Greenwald.

Anthem insurance plans are sold under various banners. They are Anthem Blue Cross, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Georgia, Empire Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Amerigroup, Caremore, Unicare, Healthlink and DeCare.

Individuals who now are or once were holders of one of these brands' policies are urged to contact Weitz & Luxenberg for information about how to participate in the class action lawsuit against Anthem.

About Weitz & Luxenberg:

Weitz & Luxenberg, P.C., is among the nation's leading and most readily recognized personal injury law firms. Weitz & Luxenberg's numerous litigation areas include: mesothelioma, defective medicine and devices, environmental pollutants, consumer protection, accidents, personal injury and medical malpractice. Victims of accidents are invited to rely on Weitz & Luxenberg's more than 25 years of experience handling such cases. You can contact the firm's Client Relations department at 800-476-6070 or at clientrelations@weitzlux.com.

More information: http://www.weitzluxenberg.com/.

To view the original version on Send2Press Newswire, visit: https://www.send2press.com/newswire/anthem-data-breach-sparks-class-action-lawsuit-weitz-luxenberg-announces-2015-0218-007.shtml.

NEWS SOURCE Weitz and Luxenberg, P.C. :: This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (who is solely responsible for its accuracy) by and Copr. © 2015 Send2Press® Newswire, a service of Neotrope®.