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A Court authorized the Notice because you have a right to know about a proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit and your options and associated deadlines before the Court decides whether to give final approval to the settlement. The name of the lawsuit is In Re: Takata Airbag Product Liability Litigation, No. 1:15-MD-2599-FAM. Takata and several automotive companies, including Mazda, have been named as defendants in the litigation. The Notice explains the lawsuit, the proposed settlement, and your legal rights. You are NOT being sued. Please do not contact Mazda Dealers regarding the details of this settlement while it is pending before the Court.
The lawsuit alleges that certain automotive companies, including Mazda, manufactured, distributed, or sold certain vehicles containing allegedly defective Takata airbag inflators manufactured by Defendants Takata Corporation and TK Holdings, Inc. The inflators allegedly could, upon deployment, rupture and expel debris or shrapnel into the occupant compartment and/or otherwise affect the airbag’s deployment. Plaintiffs allege they overpaid for certain Subject Vehicles as a result of the defect.
The lawsuit claims violations of various state consumer protection statutes, among other claims. You can read the Second Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint filed by certain recyclers in the Documents section of this website. Mazda denies that it has violated any law, denies liability, and denies that it engaged in any wrongdoing with respect to the manufacture, distribution, or sale of the Subject Vehicles.
On January 13, 2017, the Takata Corporation signed a criminal plea agreement in which it admitted, among other things, that it “knowingly devised and participated in a scheme to obtain money and enrich Takata by, among other things, inducing the victim OEMs to purchase airbag systems from Takata that contained faulty, inferior, nonperforming, non-conforming, or dangerous PSAN inflators by deceiving the OEMs through the submission of false and fraudulent reports and other information that concealed the true and accurate test results for the inflators which the OEMs would not have otherwise purchased as they were.” On the same day, an indictment of three Takata employees on related charges was unsealed. Takata entered a guilty plea to one count of wire fraud, as part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice. See https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/takata-corporation-agrees-plead-guilty-and-pay-1-billion-criminal-penalties-airbag-scheme.
The recycler Plaintiffs filed their First Amended Consolidated Class Action Complaint against Defendants on May 18, 2018. In response, the Automotive Defendants filed Motions to Dismiss. The Court granted in part and denied in part the Motions to Dismiss on March 9, 2021. The Court dismissed the following claims against Mazda: RICO claim for the nationwide class; Lanham Act for all Plaintiffs; Fraudulent Concealment and Fraudulent Misrepresentation claims for Tennessee and North Carolina; Violation of the Georgia Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act; and Violation of the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act. The claims remaining against Mazda were: Violation of Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act; Violation of the North Carolina Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act; Violation of the Texas Consumer Protection Act; and Fraudulent Concealment and Fraudulent Misrepresentation claims under Georgia, Florida, Missouri, Texas, and Virginia law.
On April 24, 2021, the Plaintiffs filed a Second Amended Class Action Complaint. This Complaint was corrected by Plaintiffs on May 7, 2021, and this is the operative pleading for Plaintiffs’ claims at this time. Mazda answered the Second Amended Class Action Complaint on May 21, 2021.
A detailed description of the legal proceedings, including motions to dismiss, is set forth in the Settlement Agreement, which is available on the documents section of this website.
The following Mazda vehicles (called the “Subject Vehicles”) distributed for sale or lease in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico or any other United States territories or possessions are included:
Model Years | Make and Model | Inflator Type(s) |
2011-2014 | Mazda2 | PSPI-X2.9 |
2010-2013 | Mazda3 | PSPI-X2.9 |
2003-2013 | Mazda6 | PSPI / PSPI-6 /PSPI-D / PSDI-4 / PSPI-X |
2006-2007 | MazdaSpeed6 | PSPI / PSPI-D / PSDI-4 / PSPI-X |
2007-2012 | Mazda CX-7 | PSPI-6 |
2007-2015 | Mazda CX-9 | PSPI-6 |
2004-2006 | Mazda MPV | PSPI / PSPI-D |
2004-2011 | Mazda RX-8 | PSPI / PSPI-D / PSDI-4 / PSPI-X |
2004-2009 | Mazda B-Series | SPI / PSPI / SDI /PDSI-5D |
Both sides in the lawsuit agreed to a settlement in order to avoid the cost and risk of further litigation, with the goal of enhanced customer satisfaction. As a result of the settlement, the Class Members can get the benefits of the settlement; in exchange, Mazda receives a release from liability. The settlement does not mean that Mazda broke any laws or did anything wrong. The Court did not decide which side was right. This settlement has been preliminarily approved by the Court, which authorized the issuance of the Notice. The Class Representatives/Named Plaintiffs and the lawyers representing them (called “Settlement Class Counsel”) believe that the settlement is in the best interests of all Class Members.
The essential terms of the settlement are summarized in the Notice. The Settlement Agreement along with all exhibits sets forth in greater detail the rights and obligations of the parties. If there is any conflict between the Notice and the Settlement Agreement, the Settlement Agreement governs.
You are part of the settlement if you are a person or entity that purchased a Subject Vehicle containing a Takata inflator, and you currently engage, or at the time of purchase were engaged, in the business of automotive salvage and/or recycling, and/or that recycled, refurbished, and/or removed for sale and/or re-sale Takata Inflators and/or Takata Inflator-related component parts in the United States and the territories and possessions of the United States prior to April 3, 2023.
This is called the “Class.” Excluded from this Class are: (a) Mazda, their officers, directors, and employees; their affiliates and affiliates’ officers, directors and employees; their distributors and distributors’ officers, directors and employees; and Mazda’s Dealers and their officers and directors; (b) Settlement Class Counsel and their employees; (c) judicial officers and their immediate family members and associated court staff assigned to this case; and (d) persons who or entities which timely and properly exclude themselves from (opt out of) the Class.
The settlement does not relate to claims for personal injury or property damage to any property other than the Subject Vehicles.
If you are not sure whether you are included in the Class, you may call 1- 833-630-4683. Please do not contact Mazda Dealers regarding the settlement while it is pending before the Court as the Court has ordered that all questions be directed to the Settlement Notice Administrator.
If you are a Class Member, what you are eligible to receive depends on several factors. The settlement benefits are outlined generally below.
The proposed settlement benefits consist of an Enhanced Inflator Recovery Program. Class Members will submit claims to the Settlement Claims Administrator, which will purchase intact, missing, and deployed Inflators in recalled (as of January 3, 2023) Subject Vehicles of Class Members. The Inflators that are purchased through the Program will be recovered and destroyed where possible. If you have previously been compensated by Mazda for an Inflator, you cannot be compensated under this Program for the same Inflator.
Deadline to Submit Claim: To receive reimbursement for a Claim, eligible Class Members must submit the Claim during the Claim Period. Class Members will have two years from the date of implementation of the Enhanced Inflator Recovery Program to submit a Claim.
Obtaining, Completing and Submitting a Claim: You can complete and submit a Claim either online at www.coresupply.com or via smartphone app, RAS CorePro Mobile. You can also obtain a claim form here, which includes the instructions to submit a and the Claim Form for Intact Inflators and/or the Claim Form for Missing/Deployed Inflators either online or via the smartphone app.
Mazda initiated the Enhanced Inflator Recovery Program on April 1, 2023.
Please note that you have to take action within certain deadlines to receive certain benefits, such as completing and submitting a Claim. If you do nothing, you may not receive benefits from the settlement, and, as a Class Member, you will not be able to sue the Released Parties about the issues in the lawsuit.
Enhanced Inflator Recovery Program: Pursuant to the Enhanced Inflator Recovery Program and at Mazda’s direction, the Settlement Claims Administrator shall locate, identify, purchase, recover, and destroy Inflators (for recovery of undeployed Inflators, the airbag modules containing Inflators) in or from Class Members’ Subject Vehicles that have been recalled as of January 3, 2023. This Enhanced Inflator Recovery Program does not apply to Inflators (or airbag modules containing an Inflator) that were previously recovered and purchased by Mazda under a separate program administered by the Settlement Claims Administrator. This Enhanced Inflator Recovery Program excludes Inflators that have not been recalled as of January 3, 2023.
Class Members who did not exclude themselves from the Class released Mazda and the Released Parties from liability and are not be able to sue the Released Parties about the issues in the lawsuit. The Settlement Agreement at Section VII describes the released claims in necessary legal terminology, so read it carefully. For ease of reference, the full release section and the definition of Released Parties appears in Appendix A to the Notice. The Settlement Agreement is available in the Documents section. You can talk to one of the lawyers listed in Question 13 below for free or you can talk to your own lawyer at your own expense if you have questions about the released claims or what they mean.
Yes. The Court has appointed lawyers to represent you and other Class Members. These lawyers are called “Settlement Class Counsel”: Peter Prieto of Podhurst Orseck, P.A., is Chair Lead Counsel, and David Boies of Boies Schiller & Flexner, L.L.P. and Todd A. Smith of Smith LaCien, L.L.P. are Co-Lead Counsel. Roland Tellis of Baron & Budd P.C., James Cecchi of Carella Byrne Cecchi Olstein P.C., and Elizabeth Cabraser of Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP are the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee members. Their contact information is as follows:
Peter Prieto PODHURST ORSECK, P.A. SunTrust International Center One S.E. 3rd Avenue, Suite 2300 Miami, Florida 33131 Tel: (305) 358-2800 URL: www.podhurst.com Chair Lead Counsel | David Boies BOIES, SCHILLER & FLEXNER, L.L.P. 575 Lexington Avenue New York, NY 10022 Tel: (305) 539-8400 URL: www.bsfllp.com Co-Lead Counsel for the Economic Loss Track |
Todd A. Smith | Roland Tellis |
POWER, ROGERS AND SMITH, L.L.P. | BARON & BUDD |
70 West Madison St., Suite 2250 | 15910 Ventura Blvd. #1600 Encino, CA 91436 |
Chicago, IL 60602 | Tel: (818) 839-2333 |
Tel: (312)509-8900 | |
URL: www.baronbudd.com | |
Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee | |
Co-Lead Counsel for the Economic Loss Track |
|
James E. Cecchi | Elizabeth J. Cabraser |
CARELLA, BYRNE, CECCHI, OLSTEIN, | LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN & |
BRODY & AGNELLO, PC | BERNSTEIN, LLP |
5 Becker Farm Road | 275 Battery Street, 29th Floor |
Roseland, NJ 07068 | San Francisco, CA 94111 |
Tel: (973)994-1700 | Tel: (415)956-1000 |
URL: www.carellabyme.com | URL: www.lchb.com |
Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee | Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee |
The Notice summarizes the proposed settlement. More details are in the Settlement Agreement. You can get a copy of the Settlement Agreement and other information about the settlement and the Claim Form at the Documents section and the Claim Form for Intact Inflators and/or the Claim Form for Missing/Deployed Inflators. You can also call the toll-free number, 1-833-630-4683, or write the Settlement Notice Administrator at