CHARLESTON – Automaker Chrysler owes West Virginians at least $5 million for selling vehicles with defective engines, according to a class action suit that Alabama lawyers filed for an Ohio couple in West Virginia.
Robert Trezza and Suzan Trezza claim in U.S. District Court at Charleston that oil sludge accumulates in Chrysler 2.7 liter engines, creating a risk of overheating.
"Chrysler placed the class vehicles into the stream of commerce with the knowledge that they would be purchased by consumers who reasonably expected the class vehicles to be free of defects," wrote lawyer Rodney Miller of Birmingham, Alabama.
Sludge prevents proper cooling and reduces oil pressure, he wrote.
"Eventually the oil sludge buildup can lead to catastrophic engine failure," he wrote.
He identified his clients as Ohio residents who bought a vehicle in Ohio, but he proposed to certify them as leaders of a West Virginia class action.
They lived in Parkersburg when they bought the vehicle, he wrote.
The complaint does not make clear which car they bought.
The first page states that they bought a 1999 Dodge Intrepid and "experienced "multiple problems" with the engine.
The fourth page states that they bought a 1999 Chrysler Sebring and spent $4,400 to replace the engine after it failed.
The 13th page states that they bought a 1999 Intrepid with an engine that subsequently failed due to sludge.
The complaint alleges that Chrysler built a million defective engines from 1998 to 2004, but the class definition covers vehicles Chrysler built from 1998 to 2002.
The complaint alleges that the amount in controversy exceeds $5 million, but Miller admits he doesn't know how many West Virginians belong to the class.
He figures Chrysler will dig up the information for him.
"Although the precise number of class members and their identities is not yet known, they may be ascertained via the discovery process, which includes examination of defendant's sales, service, maintenance and complaint records," Miller wrote.
"Chrysler received hundreds of complaints of engine failure with the 2.7L engine, and was on notice that these engines were defective and would fail prematurely even with proper maintenance," he wrote.
"Plaintiffs seek recompense for the costs of inspecting, preventative maintenance and/or repairing or replacing the defective engine in the class vehicles," he wrote.
"Plaintiffs also seek to compel Chrysler to pay for the diminished value of the class vehicles and reasonable attorneys' fees," he wrote.
Chrysler equipped 2.7 liter engines with five quart oil pumps when Chrysler knew the engines needed six quart pumps, he wrote.
"The small oil pump capacity results in inadequate oil circulation, cooling and accelerated oil degradation, which results in the formation of sludge," he wrote.
The Center for Auto Safety has received more than 2,800 complaints of sludge in Chrysler's 2.7 liter engines, he wrote.
"Chrysler has failed to issue a recall and has worked to conceal the existence and nature of the defects from consumers," he wrote.
"The information about the defect is technical in nature and thus not apparent to the ordinary consumer," he wrote.
"Chrysler received more consideration from the sale of these vehicles than the class vehicles were worth," he wrote.
He proposed to certify two subclasses, one for those who paid for repairs and one for those who will require extra inspection and cleaning.
Miller holds a West Virginia law license.
Birmingham lawyers Keith Belt and Chris Cantrell, lacking West Virginia licenses, have applied to work on the case with Miller in West Virginia.