Rejecting Volvo Class Suit Is Premature, Judge Says

NEWARK, N.J. (CN) - A federal judge declined to dismiss a putative class action that says Volvo manufactured cars with allegedly defective "sunroof drainage systems."

This purported defect lets water enter the passenger compartment and soak floor mats, the proposed class of Volvo owners claim.

Volvo Cars of North America and Volvo Car Corporation claimed it would be impossible for plaintiffs to ever obtain class certification, which would entail plaintiffs proving that every potential class member suffered water damage due to the alleged defect.

But in a six-page opinion filed Monday, U.S. District Judge Dennis Cavanaugh found that plaintiffs have yet to even request such certification.

"To disallow certification before it has even been requested seems to the Court like putting the cart before the horse," the judge ruled.

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