For more than 20 years, the Missouri law firm of Peterson & Associates, P.C. has been asserting the rights of consumers and personal injury victims. In 2014, our superior litigation advocacy practice won a class action jury verdict against the automaker Nissan.
Peterson & Associates, P.C. attorney L. Benjamin Mook and co-counsel successfully argued that Nissan of North America violated consumer protection laws in Missouri by selling SUVs with defective dashboards. The lawsuit was filed under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.
The case was initiated in 2009 and was plagued by repeated attempts to remove the case to federal jurisdiction. After years of pre-trial litigation, plaintiffs and their attorneys went to trial during the last two weeks of May 2014.
After a mere two-hour deliberation, the jury awarded the class $2 million for sun damage to the dashboards. The sun damage on the dashboards caused air bubbles and peeling on Infiniti FX35 and FX45 SUVs sold by Nissan during 2003-2008.
Our firm remained committed to ensuring the lead plaintiffs and the entire class got their day in court. Despite attempts by Nissan to extend warranties and replace dashboards, many of the replacement dashboards provided by Nissan were defective. The firm refused to allow Nissan to absolve itself of liability while continuing to sell and offer vehicles with defective dashboards. Whereas many attorneys and firms would have expediently settled the case, our firm took the case to a jury trial and won a verdict in Jackson County, Missouri. The jury verdict represents the true cost to Infiniti SUV owners saddled with defective dashboards.