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The NAM filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to argue that courts should reject class action lawsuits that seek to extract excessive damages from automobile manufacturers for automotive parts that might deteriorate prematurely in some vehicles. The case arises from a class action lawsuit claiming that Nissan failed to disclose a design defect in the transmission of several of its vehicle models. The plaintiffs sought damages totaling the cost of replacing every potential impacted part in every potentially-affected vehicle. A federal district court denied the plaintiffs’ request for class certification because granting the plaintiffs such a financial recovery would overcompensate the plaintiffs because only a portion of vehicle owners experienced transmission problems, and even then, the parts worked as intended for long periods of time. The plaintiffs asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to review the district court’s denial of class certification, and the court agreed to consider the appeal. This case has important implications for manufacturers because if the Ninth Circuit agrees with the plaintiffs’ reasoning, then any alleged product defect could impose potential liability and settlement pressure on manufacturers far beyond the actual harm caused by the alleged product defect. The MCLA’s amicus brief argued against such potential excessive damages and explained why the district court properly denied class certification. On July 26, 2019, the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court, concluding that class certification could proceed.