Ysbrand v. DaimlerChrysler Corp.

Minivan owners (plaintiffs) brought a nationwide class action against DaimlerChrysler (defendant), a Delaware corporation headquartered and manufacturing in Michigan, alleging UCC claims and common-law fraud over defective front-passenger airbags. The trial court certified a class of current owners (excluding those injured by airbag deployment or who had airbags deactivated or replaced), and Daimler appealed the certification, in part because varying state laws might defeat the commonality and predominance requirements for a class action.

Whether, in a class action, the substantive law of a corporation's principal place of business applies if that state has the most significant relationship to the parties and the transaction.