General Motors has won a significant legal battle after a federal appeals court threw out a massive class action lawsuit involving hundreds of thousands of its vehicles.
In a narrow 9-7 vote, the Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati ruled Friday to decertify the class action, which accused GM of knowingly selling cars and trucks with faulty eight-speed automatic transmissions.
According to CarComplaints, the case originally involved about 800,000 owners across 26 states. The court found that the differences in the vehicles, transmissions, and owners' experiences were too varied to be tried together.
"The subclasses do not meet the rigorous requirements for handling all of these cases in one district court," the majority wrote.
The lawsuit covered GM vehicles from the 2015 to 2019 model years, including popular models like the Chevrolet Silverado, Corvette, Camaro, and Cadillac Escalade, which were equipped with the 8L45 or 8L90 transmissions.
Many owners complained about cars shaking or jerking during driving—even after repairs.
General Motors LLC prevailed Friday in its bid to decertify more than two dozen state-wide classes in litigation over allegedly faulty transmissions. https://t.co/YFcy1sbwGV
— Bloomberg Law (@BLaw) June 28, 2025
Judge Slams Ruling That Halts Massive GM Lawsuit
The decision reverses an earlier ruling from 2024 that allowed the case to move forward.
Circuit Judge Karen Nelson Moore, who originally approved the class certification, disagreed with the latest decision, saying the ruling "erects insurmountable barriers" for everyday consumers seeking justice against big companies, Reuters said.
GM has long argued that most of its customers did not report problems and that the issues varied too much by model and use.
The company also pushed back against the idea that customers without transmission problems could still sue by claiming they overpaid for the vehicles.
The lawsuit combined multiple cases filed in different states, including Francis v. GM, Shelton v. GM, and Speerly v. GM, among others.
Though the class action covered 26 states, the ruling means the legal fight is far from over. The case now heads back to US District Judge David Lawson in Detroit, who must review the case again—this time under stricter guidelines.
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