More than 800 owners of 2023 and 2024 Fisker Ocean EVs have retained automotive litigation firm Hagens Berman to bring lawsuits against EV startup Fisker, which declared bankruptcy earlier in 2024.
According to the law firm, Fisker's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in June wreaked havoc on its customers, who have been "reporting harrowing and frustrating experiences: car doors locking passengers inside the vehicle, software glitches that cause the car to suddenly go into park, hours on hold with service departments with no answer, a bricked $80,000 paperweight with only 2,000 miles on the odometer."
Hagens Berman is now representing Fisker Ocean owners who financed their SUVs through Fisker Finance or J.P. Morgan Chase Bank. The firm said customers were not warned about the impending bankruptcy filing, which caused the loss of warranty protection, ongoing software problems and an inability to obtain software updates.
The customers told Hagens Berman that Fisker had turned to "aggressive" tactics to meet its sales quotas, offering low interest rates to move inventory.
"Many say these offers are what sealed the deal or kept them from cancelling their reserved Ocean EVs," the law firm said.
“[Fisker EO] Henrik Fisker has now bankrupted two companies, and owners of Fisker vehicles who paid upwards of $80,000 are now unjustly paying the consequences of bad business,” said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman. “Fisker owners have reached out to our firm reporting serious safety issues, with some left unable to use their vehicles after only having driven 2,000 miles.”
The law firm said customers who reached out to it reported Fisker has "shirked many of its responsibilities" after filing for bankruptcy, including servicing the SUVs it had sold. The EV maker has also reportedly failed to respond to calls and other communications regarding repairs, active recalls and warranty concerns.
In an effort to salvage its business, Fisker sold its assets and significantly reduced the salaries of co-CEOs Henrik and Geeta Gupta-Fisker to $1 per year. However, they retained more than 843,000 shares, maintaining majority voting control of the company.
