---
title: "Fiat-Chrysler Facing Massive Class-Action Lawsuit Over “Runaway” Jeeps"
description: "New class-action case alleges FCA “fraudulently concealed” and “failed to remedy” electronic gear selectors."
date: "2016-06-26"
modified: "2016-06-26"
authors:
  - name: "Max Prince"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/max-prince"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/4161/fiat-chrysler-facing-massive-class-action-lawsuit-over-runaway-jeeps"
categories:
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Jeep"
  - "Lawsuit"
  - "Recall"
  - "safety"
  - "suv/crossover"
---

# Fiat-Chrysler Facing Massive Class-Action Lawsuit Over “Runaway” Jeeps

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/archive-images/jeeplawsuit.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

After a sweeping recall of 1.1 million “runaway” vehicles due to gear selector issues [in April](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/3150/runaway-jeeps-lead-to-massive-global-recall>), Fiat-Chrysler is now facing a massive class-action lawsuit from the owners of affected models. The case comes less than a week after the [high-profile death of actor Anton Yelchin](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/4069/was-star-trek-actor-anton-yelchins-death-linked-to-jeeps-gear-shifter-recall-issues>), co-star of *Star Trek* and *Terminator Salvation*, who was found crushed by his Jeep Grand Cherokee. Yelchin’s truck, a 2015 model year, was among those recalled.

The suit, filed in a California federal court on Thursday by New York firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLC., is a serious one. It alleges that Fiat-Chrysler not only “failed to remedy” the shifter on late-model Jeep Grand Cherokees, Dodge Chargers, and Chrysler sedans, but also “fraudulently concealed” its potential dangers. According to [this report](<https://www.wsj.com/articles/jeep-owners-sue-fiat-chrysler-over-shifter-1466724951?AID=11876098&PID=2942700>) from the *Wall Street Journal*, the new lawsuit claims the automaker is responsible for 41 potential injuries, and that the plaintiffs are seeking “restitution for owners and a court order requiring Fiat Chrysler to notify customers not to drive the affected cars and SUVs until the shifters can be repaired.”

And, for Fiat-Chrysler, it gets worse. Now the automaker has announced [another gear shift recall](<https://www.pddnet.com/news/2016/06/maserati-recalls-13000-cars-confusing-gearshifts>), this time for 13,000 Maserati sedans. Because he’s a lawyer, Steve Berman, the “Berman” between Hagens and Sobol Shapiro, is [encouraging Maserati owners](<https://money.cnn.com/2016/06/23/news/companies/jeep-lawsuit-fiat-chrysler/>) to get in on the lawsuit, too.

Nobody at Fiat-Chrysler is commenting on the case, only that the company it hasn’t been officially served yet. No word on the sought-after amount, either, but you can bet it’s well into multi-million-dollar territory. If awarded, it’ll go along with the record $105 million Fiat-Chrysler paid last year for failing to follow protocol in two dozen recalls involving more than 11 million vehicles.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/themaxprince>)