Feb. 11, 2015—The Automotive Recyclers Association (ARA) announced Wednesday that it has filed a class action lawsuit against Takata Corporation, its subsidiaries TK Holdings Inc. and Highland Industries Inc., and numerous automotive manufacturers relating to the massive recall of vehicles containing defective airbags manufactured by Takata.
The ARA brought the class action on behalf of all persons and entities who operate professional automotive recycling facilities in the U.S. who have purchased for resale any of the vehicles containing undeployed and allegedly defective airbags manufactured by Takata. The complaint alleges that Takata and the Auto Manufacturers withheld and/or misled Automotive Recyclers about the safety and reliability of the allegedly defective airbags, which led recyclers to over pay for now worthless airbags.
According to the complaint, Takata was aware of the airbag defect as far back as 2004 when it conducted secret tests on several airbags.
The complaint further alleges that following the disclosure of the airbag defect, the Automotive Recyclers are not able to sell or trade these airbags because they are valueless. The ARA alleges that it and the Automotive Recyclers had an expectation that Takata and the Auto Manufacturers would disclose known defects in a timely manner pursuant to federal, state and common law. The failure to properly disclose the defect caused the Automotive Recyclers to purchase vehicles containing the Takata airbags for amounts greater than their worth.
The ARA is represented by Kessler Topaz Meltzer and Check LLP. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.