Chevy Equinox Owner Unsuccessfully Sues GM For Fuel Tank Fire

An attempt to sue GM for up to a million dollars over a 2020 Chevy Equinox that caught fire while being driven has fizzled, with Judge Brantley Starr of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas granting “summary judgment in favor of General Motors.”

The plaintiff, Kimberly Eichmann, claims the vehicle caught fire while she was driving through Irving, Texas in 2022, per reporting by Car Complaints. 

Allegedly, Eichmann was driving the 2020 Chevy Equinox when the vehicle caught fire because of a claimed fuel tank defect. She pulled to the roadside and as the fire continued, “fled for her life, and in doing so, she sustained a tear in her right knee and right arm sprain,” according to her complaint.

The plaintiff further claimed that not only was the Chevy Equinox defective, but that GM was aware of the fuel tank defect and did nothing to remedy it. Represented by the LIDJI law firm of Dallas, Texas, a personal injury firm that claims to have collected over $500 million in 20,000 cases, Eichmann sued for $250,000 to $1 million in damages.

However, Eichmann failed to provide any evidence of a defective fuel tank. Her entire proof consists of four photographs of the Chevy Equinox which do not show any defects, and she is no longer in possession of the vehicle involved in the incident.

The whereabouts of the Equinox are also unknown, making any kind of inspection impossible. The General’s attorneys pointed out that “proof of causation requires more than conjecture or guess.” These facts led to the dismissal of the lawsuit.

Judge Starr summarized the situation by stating, “because the only evidence of the car are four photographs that do not depict the part of the car alleged to have been defective, there is no possible way causation could be shown. Indeed, no one knows where the car is or whether it still exists.”