A portion of the notice from the US District Court below. Kind of interesting that Ford denies all allegations of wrong doing asserted, but they are willing to settle. I'm just guessing, but can't help but think that this is probably cheaper than a recall or facing any potential health issue related claim(s), plus it may keep them out of the news, time will tell.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
If you had a model year 2011-2015 Ford Explorer, you could get benefits from a class action settlement A court authorized this Notice.
This is not a solicitation from a lawyer. Please read this Notice carefully; it affects your legal rights.
NATURE OF THE SETTLEMENT
The Named Plaintiff in this case alleges that model year 2011-2015 Ford Explorers are defectively designed and manufactured so that Exhaust Odor may enter the passenger compartment of these vehicles when they are driven at wide open throttle and with the internal ventilation on recirculate. Plaintiff has asserted nationwide claims under federal and state express and implied warranty laws, and under consumer protection statutes. The Court has conditionally certified the lawsuit as a nationwide class action for the purposes of settlement.
Ford denies all allegations of wrongdoing asserted, including that the Class Vehicles are defective and that Ford is liable to any buyer, lessee, or operator of the Class Vehicles under any legal claim. Nonetheless, Ford has agreed to settle the Litigation by providing the benefits described in the Notice.
SETTLEMENT CLASS: The following Settlement Class has been conditionally certified: All entities and natural persons in the United States (including its Territories and the District of Columbia) who currently own or lease (or who in the past owned or leased) a model year 2011-2015 Ford Explorer that was sold or leased in the United States.
SETTLEMENT BENEFITS: If the Court approves the proposed Settlement at the Fairness Hearing that is scheduled for June 14, 2017, Ford will provide the following benefits to Class Members:
Notice of New Technical Service Bulletin (TSB). You are hereby notified that Ford will issue a New Exhaust Odor TSB describing updated procedures to address Exhaust Odor in the Class Vehicles. The TSB may include two phases of service: (1) air conditioning system recalibration and sealing of gaps in the passenger compartment; and, (2) if Ford and its Authorized Ford Dealer determines that phase (1) did not eliminate the Exhaust Odor in vehicles equipped with a normally aspirated 3.5-liter Twin Independent Variable Camshaft Timing (“TiVCT”) engine, additional services may be performed, including installation of a modified exhaust system. Ford may, but is not required to, issue a Future Exhaust Odor TSB that supersedes the New Exhaust Odor TSB.
Reimbursement for Post-Warranty Repairs for Exhaust Odor. Ford will provide one of the following two benefits to Class Members (Class Members can seek one, but not both, of these benefits):
a) In-Warranty Repair Owners. Settlement Class Members who present to Ford service records from an Authorized Ford Dealer showing that, prior to dissemination of this Class Notice, and during the Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty Coverage Period applicable to their Class Vehicle, (1) they obtained one or more Exhaust Odor Repairs to their Class Vehicle, or (2) were denied an Exhaust Odor Repair after the Authorized Ford Dealer diagnosed Exhaust Odor in their Class Vehicle (“In-Warranty Repair Owners”), and who present to Ford evidence that they incurred Out-of-Pocket Expenses obtaining an Exhaust Odor Repair to that same Class Vehicle within the later of (1) 3 years/36,000 miles after the vehicle was placed in service (whichever comes first), or (2) 60 days after the Effective Date of Settlement, may receive from Ford reimbursement of such Out-of-Pocket Expenses up to a maximum of $175. If the Exhaust Odor Repair for which an In-Warranty Repair Owner seeks reimbursement of Out-of-Pocket Expenses involves installation of a modified exhaust system in a Class Vehicle equipped with a normally aspirated 3.5-liter TiVCT engine as described in the New Exhaust Odor TSB, the Settlement Class Member may receive from Ford a reimbursement of the Out-of-Pocket Expenses for this repair up to a maximum of $500. In-Warranty Repair Owners may submit claims for up to two qualifying Exhaust Odor Repairs per Class Vehicle under this provision.
b) Post-Warranty Repair Owners. Settlement Class Members who did not¸ prior to dissemination of this Class Notice, obtain an Exhaust Odor Repair or obtain a documented diagnosis of Exhaust Oder from an Authorized Ford Dealer during the Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty Coverage Period (“Post-Warranty Repair Owners”), and who present to Ford evidence that they incurred Out-of-Pocket Expenses obtaining an Exhaust Odor Repair to that same Class Vehicle within the later of (1) 60 days after the Effective Date of Settlement, or (2) 60 days after the expiration of the Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty Coverage Period, may receive from Ford reimbursement of such Out-of-Pocket Expenses up to a maximum of $175. Post-Warranty Repair Owners may submit claims for up to two qualifying Exhaust Odor Repairs per Class Vehicle under this provision.
Inability to Repair Remedy. Settlement Class Members who obtained one or more Exhaust Odor Repairs to their Class Vehicle during the Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty Coverage Period or during the pendency of a Ford Extended Warranty, and who receive a repair to the same Class Vehicle under the New Exhaust Odor TSB (including, if applicable, installation of a modified exhaust system in a Class Vehicle equipped with a normally aspirated 3.5-liter TiVCT engine) or any then-applicable Future Exhaust Odor TSB that fails to resolve the presence of Exhaust Odor in their Class Vehicle may, within six months after notifying the Authorized Ford Dealer that the repair was unsuccessful, and thereafter providing the dealer with an additional opportunity to correct the repair (i.e., the Settlement Class Member must give the Authorized Ford Dealer two chances to perform the most currently available Exhaust Odor TSB repair), submit for mediation followed by (if necessary) binding arbitration to the Better Business Bureau (“BBB”) AUTO LINE program a claim for violation of the Lemon Law and/or breach of Ford’s New Vehicle Limited Warranty under the laws of the Settlement Class Member’s state. Stated more simply, for a Settlement Class Member to bring a BBB claim, (1) the Class Vehicle must have received an Exhaust Odor Repair during the basic or extended warranty coverage period, (2) at least two attempts must have been made to perform a New Exhaust Odor TSB repair (or a Future Exhaust Odor TSB repair if there is one), and (3) the Class Vehicle must still be experiencing Exhaust Odor.
For the purpose of any such BBB AUTO LINE claim by a Settlement Class Member under this provision of the Settlement, Ford waives the following defenses: (1) that the Exhaust Odor is allegedly caused by a design defect, (2) that the statute of limitations for such claims expired before end of the extended period for obtaining partially subsidized post-warranty Exhaust Odor Repairs
established by the above section (i.e., 3 years/36,000 miles; 60 days after Effective Date of Settlement; 60 days after expiration of the Bumper-to-Bumper Warranty Coverage Period). Ford preserves all other applicable defenses to such claims, including whether the Authorized Ford Dealer has made a sufficient number of repair attempts to support the Settlement Class Member’s claims, the
requirements with respect to which are set forth in the prior paragraph, and whether the Class Vehicle is defective. Ford will pay all costs of mediating and/or arbitrating claims by Settlement Class Members made to BBB AUTO LINE under this provision. An award of attorneys’ fees will not be available through the BBB AUTO LINE program. Arbitration determinations by BBB AUTO LINE will be final and binding upon Settlement Class Members and Ford, with no right of appeal or further litigation.
You will receive these benefits only if the Court approves the proposed Settlement following the Fairness Hearing on June 14, 2017, and only if you remain a Member of the Settlement Class. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you will not receive any benefits.
To monitor the status of the proposed Settlement, to learn if and when it is approved, and to obtain Claims Forms, you may visit
www.ExplorerExhaustSettlement.com or call 1-855-581-1279. (Claim Forms will not be available unless and until the Settlement is approved.)
ATTORNEYS’ FEES, EXPENSES, AND SERVICE AWARDS: Class Counsel have pursued the Litigation on a contingent basis and have paid all the costs of the Litigation. They have not yet been paid or recovered any of their expenses. As part of the proposed Settlement, Class Counsel will ask the Court to award them up to $5 million in attorneys’ fees and expenses, and to approve a $60,000 service award to be divided among the Named Plaintiff and Unnamed Plaintiffs (named plaintiffs who pursued other related class action lawsuits). The Court will decide the amount of the fee award, the expense award, and the service award at the Fairness Hearing. None of these payments will reduce the benefits that you, as a Settlement Class Member, receive. Ford will pay any money the Court awards to Class Counsel and to the Named Plaintiff and Unnamed Plaintiffs.
