Duncan v. Nissan North America, Inc.

Sarah Duncan and other consumers (plaintiffs) sued Nissan (defendant) in a class action over a plastic engine component that was supposed to last the car's lifetime but instead wore away, allegedly causing expensive engine damage and a safety hazard. The complaint alleged Nissan knew of the defect - having disclosed it to dealerships in technical bulletins - but concealed it from consumers and set the warranty at 36 months/36,000 miles, timed to expire before the defect typically became apparent. Nissan moved to dismiss the breach-of-warranty claims because all actual repairs occurred after the warranty period ended; the plaintiffs argued the component malfunctioned during the warranty period even though repairs came later, and that the time limit itself was unconscionable under the UCC.