Timothy and Bernadette Lloyd v. General Motors Corporation

Summary

The court held that vehicle owners adequately alleged cognizable economic injury where defective seatbacks allegedly created a clear, serious, and reasonably probable risk of death or severe bodily injury, even though no class member had yet been injured and no seat had malfunctioned. The cost of repairing or replacing the seatbacks could support the pleaded negligence, strict liability, negligent misrepresentation, fraudulent concealment, consumer-protection, civil-conspiracy, and implied-warranty claims. The court reversed the dismissal and remanded for further proceedings. Judge Eldridge, concurring, joined the judgment and opinion but stated that he continued to adhere to prior dissenting views concerning the economic-loss and consumer-protection doctrines.