Judge Timothy Taylor extended the deadline for five state attorneys general – from California, Iowa, Massachusetts, Texas and Washington – to object to the settlement to March 9, the newspaper said. According to the settlement, which stemmed from a claim that the automaker overstated the model’s fuel economy figures, Civic owners would be paid up to $200 each or a bit more in coupons that may be used towards buying another Honda, while class-action attorneys are to receive $8.5 million. The court is expected to decide whether the settlement will stand on March 16, according to the Times.
Honda was the subject of a class-action claim relating to its estimates that 2003-07 model-year Civic Hybrids got about 50 miles per gallon which the automaker settled out of court in 2009. Later, 26 state attorneys general said the settlement was unfair because the claimants were paid less from the settlement than their attorneys.
Earlier this month, a California woman was awarded almost $10,000 in damages after a California small claims court upheld her claim that Honda misled her in regards to the Civic Hybrid’s fuel economy. The woman, Heather Peters, claimed that her 2006 Civic Hybrid never achieved more than 42 miles per gallon, and that its gas mileage plunged to less than 30 mpg after a software update was performed on the car.
