Sometimes there are law suits and sometimes there are ridiculous law suits. Here, we have the latter. Everybody knows that the lighter colors reflect the sun light. Unless there is something special here, it's a frivolous suit. Here, Porsche is being sued for making a light colored dashboard. Even more offensive is the fact that the manufacture now won't make the light dashboard and the Plaintiff claims that because of that, it's an admission. I see this as being a great suit for Porsche to kick the butt of the frivolous lawsuit lawyer. It's time to weed out the trash and get to real lawyering. All this being said, if the suit is found to have teeth, all light colored interiors for other manufacturers are fair game.
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Alleged Sun Glare from Dashboard Driving Suit Against Porsche
Jennifer Genova, New Jersey Law Journal
Glaring Issue—An alleged defect in the windshields of some recent models of Porsche cars is exposing drivers to "unreasonable danger," a potential class-action suit filed in New Jersey federal court on March 24 claims.
The complaint alleges that Porsche is violating the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act by offering cars with the "Luxor Beige"-colored dashboard. Vehicles purchased with the Luxor Beige dash- board are at risk for "a very noticeable, distracting, and unsafe windshield glare, which significantly impairs a driver's ability to see clearly."
Lead plaintiff Ed Chan, of Queens, New York, purchased a 2013 Porsche Carrera with a Luxor Beige dashboard at Jack Daniels Motors in Upper Saddle River in late 2012.
He was unaware of the alleged "Lux Beige Glare Defect," and, "at no time prior to plaintiff's purchase did anyone advise [him] of [it]," the suit claims.
When Chan discovered the defect, it "substantially impaired [his] ability to safely operate [the car]," according to the suit.
In addition to causing a "serious safety problem" for drivers, the windshield defect violates New Jersey law, said Chan's attorney, Ridgewood solo Joseph Santoli.
"A number of states—most states—have statutes specifically about windshields," said Santoli. "You could be ticketed for that sun glare because of a danger to the public."
The suit claims that Porsche, the Stuttgart, Germany-based luxury car maker, was made aware of the defect as far back as the summer of 2011. It names two alleged incidents in which the glare was brought to the attention of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in separate complaints.
In the first complaint, filed in July 2011, "the consumer had complained directly to a Porsche authorized dealer, thus providing notice to Porsche." The second complaint, filed in October 2011, the suit says, went directly to Detlev von Platen, president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America Inc., which is based in Atlanta, Georgia.
"Rather than alerting Porsche vehicle owners of this safety hazard and offering to resolve the Lux Beige Glare Defect, Porsche has concealed the problem from its customers," the suit says.
Santoli said he is looking for additional plaintiffs to join Chan and plans to expand the class to other states that have windshield glare statutes, including Pennsylvania, Illinois and California.
The suit is seeking damages and attorney fees for the consumer fraud claim, as well as claims for breach of written, express, and implied warranties.
Santoli added that in some 2015 Porsche models, the only dashboard offered is a two-tone one with darker base colors, which he said he sees as an "admission that the whole thing wasn't working."
"[Porsche] received so many complaints that it relented," he said.
The defect allegedly affects a substantial number of Porsche vehicles. Models named in the suit are the 2011-2015 Porsche Cayenne, 2011-2015 Porsche Cayenne S, 2010-2015 Porsche Panamera, 2010-2015 Porsche Panamera S, 2011-2015 Porsche 911, 2011-2015 Porsche 911 S, 2011-2015 Porsche Carrera, 2011-2015 Porsche Carrera S, 2011-2015 Porsche Boxster, 2011-2015 Porsche Cayman, 2015 Porsche Macan, and the 2015 Macan S.
