Class Action Against BMW Hits A Legal Dead End

A recent Court of Appeal decision, North v Bayerische Motoren Werke, has closed the door on a class action against BMW. The court confirmed that there is no legal right to keep using a product indefinitely, and the cost of repairs cannot be recovered just because a product breaks — even if it was negligently made. The court's decision is a significant one for manufacturers and consumers alike.

Key takeaways

• a product owner cannot recover from a manufacturer simply because a product breaks
• there is no right to keep using a product forever
• repair costs are only recoverable if owners spent the money to prevent real danger, not just to keep their car working
• if the faulty part is an "integral component" of the product, the owner cannot claim for damage to the product itself, and it cannot be artificially separated from the product to claim that "other property" was damaged