LOS ANGELES, March 13, 2012 - The Los Angeles, CA based Law Offices of Hovanes Margarian has filed a 149 page objection to the class action settlement terms in Nguyen v. BMW of North America,
LLC. The class action is based on allegations that an estimated 200,000
BMW vehicles equipped with twin turbo engines have a faulty high
pressure fuel pump which renders the vehicles unsafe.
After nearly two
years of litigation the parties have reached a settlement agreement
wherein each affected class member will receive a free replacement of
the high pressure fuel pump pursuant to an ongoing recall, plus payments
ranging from $50 to $400 or an $800
BMW voucher. In his Objection, Margarian argues that these terms are
inadequate as they undercut class members' rights pursuant to Federal
and State Lemon Laws which entitled consumers to significant, if not
full, refunds of all their payments when a vehicle is deemed to be
defective. Furthermore, the settlement agreement not only circumvents
these laws but also asks class members to waive their legal rights
without being properly advised.
According to Margarian, the settlement
class should be re-evaluated and divided into sub-categories consisting
of class members who qualify for statutory Lemon Law
repurchases, class members who qualify for significantly larger
diminution of value damage awards, and class members who qualify for
recoveries within a smaller range of sums. In total, Margarian requests
that the total class recovery be increased from an estimated $42 million dollar sum pursuant to the average expected payout based on the settlement agreement to a whopping $1 billion and $140 million dollar
sum.
Furthermore, Margarian requests to be certified as class
co-counsel in these proceedings to contribute his expertise in
determining a more fair and appropriate resolution for the class
members. The Objection to the proposed class settlement in Nguyen v. BMW of North America, LLC, Case No. 3:10-cv-02257-SI, is scheduled for oral arguments in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California before the Honorable Susan Illston on March 16, 2012 in San Francisco, CA.
Hovanes Margarian, Esq. has been counsel on over one thousand consumer fraud
and automobile warranty breach cases and litigated cases against a wide
range of corporate giants. His clients consist primarily of consumers
whose rights have been violated through unlawful business practices.
Margarian earned his undergraduate degree Cum Laude from USC and his Juris Doctorate degree also from USC's
prestigious Gould School of Law.
Margarian has recently been recognized
by a nationwide bar association as one of its top 20 rising attorneys
under the age of 40. Among his peers he has gaining recognition for
being an aggressive yet respectable litigator with an unprecedented
amount of inside knowledge of the automotive industry and an uncanny
vigor to fight for consumer rights.
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