Carvana class action lawsuit moving forward

By Barry Simms

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    BALTIMORE, Maryland (WBAL) — A class action lawsuit against a national car dealer is moving forward.

A judge gave the green light for the lawsuit against Carvana to advance. Marylanders and thousands of others nationwide claim they had serious problems getting registration and title information for their purchases.

The decision is not final, but Carvana had wanted the lawsuit dismissed or to have the parties go into arbitration. Both requests were denied, so the case will move forward.

“I want to be able to have transportation I don’t have to look over my shoulder with,” customer Shawn Thorn said.

Thorn, a Baltimore resident, bought a car online through Carvana. Attorney Phillip Robinson represents him and consumers across the country who did business with Carvana.

“Ultimately, our case is about consumers who bought a car from who they thought was a legitimate dealership and it turned out they couldn’t get a title and registration and they couldn’t drive their cars,” Robinson said.

In 2022, 11 News Investigates spoke with Jo Riedel, of Aberdeen, after a tow truck repossessed his Mitsubishi Outlander he got from Carvana. Riedel stopped making payments on the vehicle after Carvana repeatedly sent him temporary tags that kept expiring.

The class action lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania alleges violations under the state’s Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Thorn said he also stopped making loan payments after getting temporary tags from other states that expired. He was pulled over by police and received citations.

“It was more principle than anything. I paid for this. I’m paying for this and I can’t use it at all. It didn’t make sense to me,” he said.

In court filings, Carvana has denied any and all liability and contends the plaintiffs’ allegations are entirely without merit. 11 News Investigates requested a response about the court’s latest ruling. An attorney for Carvana declined to comment.

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