General Motors parts distributor ACDelco might find itself in hot water over allegedly misleading labeling.
A recently filed class action lawsuit discovered by Car Complaints alleges that ACDelco parts labeled as “Made in USA” do not live up to the standards for such branding as set out by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
The plaintiff alleges that they bought an automatic transmission fluid filter with “Made in USA” printed on the box only to discover that the part had a “Made in China” label etched into it. The plaintiff says that they chose to buy the part from ACDelco instead of a less expensive third-party brand specifically because of the promise that it had been manufactured in America.
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Although one part of the filter was etched with the “Made in China” label, no other parts featured a label. Even if the other parts had been made in America, though, the suit alleges that the product does not satisfy “Made in USA” labeling requirements.
“Even if the “Made in China” inscription on the surface of Plaintiff’s transmission filter applied only to the single plastic housing piece that bears the inscription, the “Made in USA” claim still fails the “All or Virtually All” standard and is unlawful, deceptive, and misleading,” the lawsuit writes.
According to the FTC, for a product to qualify for the label, “all significant parts and processing that go into the product are of U.S. origin, i.e., where there is only a de minimis, or a negligible amount of foreign content.”
The suit, filed in the Northern District of Ohio, seeks to find redress for the plaintiffs and to stop GM’s “unfair, deceptive, and unlawful acts or practices.”
We reached out to ACDelco for comment and are awaiting its response.
