Facts

Nissan North America Inc. manufactured electric-powered Nissan LEAF cars. Several purchasers of Nissan LEAF cars filed a class action against Nissan in September 2012 in relation to allegedly defective batteries in the cars.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs alleged that car batteries were defective and caused them to lose battery life and driving range too early. Plaintiffs claimed that defendant should have revealed in advertising that owners could not charge their batteries over 80 percent to alleviate battery damage. Further, plaintiffs claimed that Nissan should have disclosed that the car's 100-mile driving range was based on a fully charged battery, which did not correspond with Nissan's recommended 80-percent battery charge. Last, plaintiffs alleged that Nissan concealed the design defect in the battery system.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Nissan denied the allegations.

Result

Nissan agreed to provide battery capacity warranty coverage for its 2011-2012 model year LEAF vehicles for capacity loss below nine bars of capacity, as shown on the vehicle's capacity gauge, for a period of 60 months or 60,000 miles, whichever occurs first. Under the coverage, if a LEAF owner's or lessee's battery capacity falls below nine bars of capacity, as shown on the vehicle's capacity gauge, during the warranty period, Nissan will repair or replace the battery to restore the battery capacity to nine bars.