Tesla lawyers have failed to persuade a US District Judge to dismiss a consumer lawsuit over the “phantom braking” safety defect.
In his ruling, US District Judge Georgia Alexakis allowed the class action to proceed based on the claim that Tesla concealed the “phantom braking” from would-be buyers. The count accuses Tesla of violating the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
However, it was not a complete loss for Tesla, as the Judge did trim the case down from the original complaint. Per Reuters, the Judge dismissed the other two counts, one being the breach of implied warranty of merchantability and the other being a breach of an implied warranty under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. The dismissed claims included claims that drivers overpaid for car insurance premiums sold by Tesla Insurance based on flawed collision monitoring.
Tesla lawyers had argued that the entire case should be dismissed based on arguments that the class action failed to state viable claims based on the alleged defect.
The next court date has been set for January 7, 2025, when both parties will discuss the next steps in the case.
Neither Tesla nor the legal team representing the class action have commented on this latest news.
