Sign Up for Ford Class Action Lawsuit
Ford class action lawsuit is currently open:
Those who meet eligibility criteria should apply before the deadline January 13, 2027. Ford Transit Trail settlement: $6,000 per van for the original owners and lessees of new 2023-2024 Transit Trails bought for personal use before June 2024.
Ford Class Action Lawsuit
If you bought a Ford Transit Trail, you paid extra for a van built to leave the pavement. According to the complaint, as quoted in the settlement agreement, the Trail package carried a suggested retail price of $12,500 and gave buyers, straight from Ford, features camping fans used to buy from aftermarket shops: a lifted frame and suspension and larger 30.5-inch tires. The Ford Transit Trail class action lawsuit says those bigger tires were the main reason for the name and the price, and that the vans did not leave them enough room inside the wheel wells when turning, braking or carrying a load close to the front axle's rated weight limit.
Ford recalled Transit Trail vans on March 22, 2024, under Ford recall 24S21 (NHTSA recall 24V226). The lawsuit also pointed to as many as 13 recalls affecting the vans, claimed Ford concealed known defects, and says owners would not have bought or leased the vans, or would have paid less, had they known. Ford denies all of it and admits no wrongdoing by settling.
Michele Provo and Susan Cherwa, the two named plaintiffs (the owners who sue on behalf of everyone else), filed the case on May 8, 2025. It is Provo v. Ford Motor Company, No. 1:25-cv-00569-RGA, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, before Judge Richard G. Andrews. The legal claims are breach of the implied warranty of merchantability (the legal promise that a product is fit for its ordinary use), violations of the Minnesota Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, the Minnesota Prevention of Consumer Fraud Act and the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, unjust enrichment and common-law fraud. Ford moved to dismiss. After a full-day mediation on November 5, 2025, both sides accepted the mediator's proposal and signed the settlement on April 29, 2026. Class counsel, the lawyers the court appointed for the class, are Berger Montague PC and Capstone Law APC.
Ford Class Action Settlement - $6,000
The Ford Transit Trail settlement pays $6,000 for each eligible van. There is no settlement fund and no cap on the total: Ford pays every valid claim that is approved, however many come in, so one owner's claim does not shrink anyone else's. Judge Andrews granted preliminary approval on June 17, 2026, and Chimo's deadline to file a claim is January 13, 2027.
Because there is no shared fund, nothing comes out of the $6,000 to cover costs. Ford pays class counsel's fees and expenses separately, up to $625,000 if the court approves them, plus a $3,500 service award to each of the two named plaintiffs for their time on the case. Ford also covers the cost of Epiq, the settlement administrator the court appointed to process claims. In October 2026 the court approved an amendment that changed how claims are paid, from a payment card to a paper check.
In return, class members give up the right to sue Ford for economic losses tied to the Transit Trail package, such as overpaying for the van or losing resale value. The settlement does not affect recall repairs Ford already offers at no charge, the van's New Vehicle Limited Warranty where it still applies, or claims for personal injury, death or damage to property other than the van. The final approval hearing, where the judge decides whether to approve the deal, is March 16, 2027, at 10:00 a.m. ET in Wilmington, Delaware.
Deadline for filing a claim: January 13, 2027
Ford Transit Trail Class Action Payout: $6,000
The Ford Transit Trail settlement amount per person is simple to state: each valid, approved claim receives a flat $6,000 per van. Nothing is divided pro rata, so the payment does not depend on how many people file, what you paid for the van or whether you still own it. Only one claim can be paid per VIN, the 17-character vehicle identification number, so a van can never be paid twice. If two people claim the same van, the administrator and the lawyers apply the settlement's definition of original owner or lessee to decide which claim, if either, qualifies. A van bought or leased jointly gets one claim and a single payment in the name of the claimant, who confirms on the claim form that they may file for every co-owner and will share the payment with them.
Where the law requires it, Ford will issue a Form 1099-MISC for the payment, which reports it to the IRS. That is why the claim asks for a completed IRS Form W-9 with your taxpayer identification number, usually your Social Security number.
Eligible payments are sent by paper check to the name and address on the claim once the court gives final approval and any appeals are over. No payment date has been set. If the administrator rejects a claim for missing information or documents, it says why, and the claimant has 30 days to send what is missing. A final rejection can be appealed to the court within 45 days. If you move, give the administrator your new address so the check reaches you. Epiq can be reached at 1-877-525-1779.
Ford Transit Trail Class Action Eligibility
You may qualify if you were the original owner or lessee of a model year 2023 or 2024 Ford Transit Trail: the first person, or people if bought jointly, to buy or lease it new, before June 1, 2024, for personal, family or household use. Buying from a Ford dealer counts, and so does buying it new through an outfitter or upfitter, a company that bought the van new to convert it and resell it. Selling the van since then does not stop you from claiming.
A van bought used, including from a private seller, does not count, and neither does a van bought for business or commercial use. You are also out if Ford already compensated you for the van, including a buyback (repurchase) or a settlement payment, if you took a claim over the recall or the van's value to a final judgment or signed a release of those claims, if you are a Ford employee, officer, director, agent or representative or their family member, or if you opt out.
The claim asks for your name, address, phone number and email, the van's VIN and purchase or lease date, a completed W-9 (printed on the claim form itself), and proof you were the first buyer or lessee. The best proof is the original purchase or lease agreement showing the seller, the buyer, the VIN and the date. If that is gone, a buyer's order, retail installment contract, lease summary, bill of sale, title, first registration, DMV record, financing record or dealer invoice can work instead. You sign under penalty of perjury, a legal term meaning you swear it is true, that you are the original owner or lessee, bought for personal use, that the van was not a salvaged vehicle, that you have not been compensated by Ford and have not handed the claim to anyone else. The administrator checks claims and can ask for more documents, and a false claim can be rejected or prosecuted, so file only for a van you can show is yours.
Ford Transit Trail Class Action Claim Form
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FAQ
It is a factory trim package on 2023 and 2024 Transit vans that, according to the complaint, added a lifted frame and suspension and larger 30.5-inch tires, at a suggested retail price of $12,500.
Model year 2023 and 2024 Ford Transit Trails originally sold or leased by an authorized Ford dealer and bought or leased new before June 1, 2024, by their first owner or lessee for personal use.
Yes. Original owners and lessees who have since sold or returned the van can still file, as long as they bought or leased it new before June 1, 2024, and were not already compensated by Ford.
No. Only the first person to buy or lease the van new qualifies, and each van has only one original owner or lessee. A van bought from a private seller or as a used vehicle is not covered.
You can. Vans bought new through an outfitter, upfitter or other company that acquired them new to convert and resell count, as long as the van was originally sold by an authorized Ford dealer.
The original purchase or lease agreement is best. Otherwise a buyer's order, bill of sale, lease summary, title, first registration, DMV record, financing record or dealer invoice showing you, the VIN and the date.
Ford may need to issue a Form 1099-MISC reporting the $6,000 payment to the IRS, and the W-9 supplies your taxpayer identification number for it. The claim form includes a substitute W-9, so it is part of every claim.
Probably not. The class leaves out anyone already compensated by Ford for the van, and the notice names a Ford repurchase as the example of someone who is likely not included.
No. You keep any recall remedy Ford already provides at no charge and your rights under Ford's New Vehicle Limited Warranty, and the settlement does not release personal injury or other property claims.
No. Ford pays class counsel separately, up to $625,000 in fees and expenses if the court approves, and pays each of the two named plaintiffs a $3,500 service award on top of the claim payments.