Suits & Settlements: The Car Pro Legal Roundup

In this week’s Suits & Settlements, you’ll find the following reports:

• Chrysler Wins Dismissal of Website-Tracking Class Action—For Now
• Parents Blame Honda Civic Seat-Belt Design for Teen’s Death
• “Bob’s Burgers” Actor Says His Lucid Gravity Was a Lemon
• SEC Accuses Former TriColor Executives of Massive Auto-Loan Fraud

Chrysler Wins Dismissal of Website-Tracking Class Action—For Now. FCA US has won dismissal of a proposed class-action lawsuit accusing the automaker of allowing a data broker to collect personal information from visitors to Chrysler.com, although the plaintiff will have another opportunity to pursue the case. According to Law360 and Bloomberg Law, lead plaintiff Wendy Blalock alleged that FCA placed a tracking tool operated by LiveRamp on the Chrysler website. She claimed the technology collected information that could be combined with other data to identify individual visitors, violating the California Invasion of Privacy Act and other privacy protections. U.S. District Judge Dolly M. Gee dismissed the case on August 14 after concluding that Blalock had not alleged a concrete personal injury sufficient to give her standing in federal court. The ruling did not determine whether FCA’s tracking practices were legal, nor did it find that no information had been collected. Instead, the court found that the complaint failed to show how the alleged data disclosure actually harmed Blalock. The dismissal was granted with permission to amend, meaning the case could return if Blalock can provide stronger allegations of injury. For car shoppers, the dispute is another reminder that visiting an automaker’s website may involve considerably more data collection than simply recording which vehicle received the most clicks.

Parents Blame Honda Civic Seat-Belt Design for Teen’s Death. The parents of an 18-year-old New Jersey resident have filed a product-liability and wrongful-death lawsuit against Honda, alleging that a defective rear-seat restraint system in a 2017 Civic caused their son’s fatal injuries. According to Law360, John and Olga Swann filed the lawsuit in New Jersey state court on behalf of their son, Jacob Luke Swann. The complaint alleges that the Civic’s rear-seat belt system was defectively designed and failed to protect Jacob properly during a collision. His parents contend that Honda is legally responsible under New Jersey product-liability and wrongful-death laws. At this stage, those assertions are allegations made by the family. Honda has not been found liable, and no judge or jury has determined that the seat belt was defective or caused the teenager’s death. The litigation will likely depend heavily on crash reconstruction, medical evidence and expert analysis of the Civic’s restraint design and performance. The case matters beyond a single model because federal compliance does not necessarily prevent a manufacturer from facing a state product-liability claim. Automakers can still be challenged over whether a safety system provided reasonable protection in a real-world crash, even if the vehicle met applicable federal standards when it was sold.

“Bob’s Burgers” Actor Says His Lucid Gravity Was a Lemon. Comedian and actor Eugene Mirman, best known as the voice of Gene Belcher on “Bob’s Burgers,” has sued Lucid Group USA in Massachusetts state court, alleging that the electric SUV the company leased to him was a lemon. According to Law360, Mirman leased a Lucid Gravity last year but says the SUV required a series of repairs and was back at a Lucid service location when he filed suit. The complaint was filed August 18 in Middlesex County Superior Court and seeks relief based on alleged warranty and consumer-protection violations. Mirman was seriously injured earlier this year in a separate crash while driving a loaner vehicle while the Gravity was being repaired. The newly filed lawsuit centers on the leased Gravity and its repair history; the available court reporting does not establish that a defect in the Gravity caused Mirman’s separate crash. Lucid has not been found liable and will have an opportunity to respond to the allegations. The case highlights a basic principle that applies equally to gasoline and electric vehicles: expensive technology does not reduce a manufacturer’s warranty obligations. A vehicle repeatedly taken out of service for unsuccessful repairs may qualify for relief under state lemon laws, depending on the number, duration and seriousness of the repair attempts.

SEC Accuses Former TriColor Executives of Massive Auto-Loan Fraud. The Securities and Exchange Commission has sued three former executives of bankrupt Dallas-based used-car retailer and subprime lender TriColor Holdings, accusing them of participating in a multiyear scheme that used the same auto loans as collateral more than once. The SEC’s August 18 complaint names former CEO Daniel Chu, former CFO Jerome Kollar and former Senior Director of Finance Ameryn Seibold. According to the agency, TriColor raised more than $1.9 billion through securities backed by subprime automobile loans while executives allegedly misrepresented the company’s financial health and double-pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to different lenders and investment offerings. The SEC also alleges that loan records were manipulated to make delinquent or defaulted accounts appear current and eligible for inclusion in securities offerings. More than $945 million in principal remained outstanding when TriColor entered bankruptcy in September 2025. These are civil allegations, not final findings. The SEC is seeking financial penalties, repayment of allegedly improper gains and court orders barring Chu and Kollar from serving as officers or directors of public companies. The case follows parallel criminal proceedings announced in December. For dealers, the significance extends beyond TriColor. A major lender’s collapse can reduce financing options for buyers with limited or damaged credit while increasing scrutiny of the loan data dealers and finance companies provide to lenders and investors.

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