Is There a Class Action Against GM or Chevy in 2026?
Updated August 11, 2026 · By Class Action Buddy
Short answer: yes, and the record shows every outcome: one settled with final approval, two were dismissed, one is being fought in Washington right now, and two appeals are being briefed in the Sixth Circuit this month. All of them are captioned General Motors LLC, not Chevy.
What to do: search under General Motors LLC, not Chevy or GMC — that alone is why most people find nothing. Then watch the motion to dismiss rather than the filing, because that is where these cases are decided. Keep the VIN and every repair order.
The short answer: yes — one settled, several were dismissed, and two appeals are being briefed right now
Yes. And GM is unusual in that the record shows the full range of outcomes rather than one story: a class action that settled and was approved, several that were thrown out, one being fought in Washington state this year, and two appeals in the Sixth Circuit with briefs filed this month.
If you are here after searching for a Chevy problem, note that the cases are captioned General Motors LLC — not Chevrolet, not Chevy, not GMC. That is why a search under the badge on the car finds nothing.
What the record actually shows
The one that paid: Tolmasoff v. General Motors, LLC in the Eastern District of Michigan. On 6 November 2017 Judge George Caram Steeh entered an order granting final approval of the class action settlement, certifying the class, awarding attorneys’ fees and service awards, and entering final judgment — all in one order, after a hearing held the same day.
The ones that did not: Woronko v. General Motors LLC was dismissed on 26 August 2022 when Judge Sean F. Cox granted GM’s motion, with judgment entered the same day and a notice of appeal following in September. Goldstein v. General Motors LLC ended on 19 July 2023 on a joint motion to dismiss.
The one being fought now: Cochran v. General Motors LLC in the Western District of Washington, filed 2 April 2026 with twelve named parties. GM moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim on 15 June 2026. That motion is the whole ball game at this stage — survive it and the case proceeds towards certification; lose it and there is nothing.
And the ones on appeal: Robin Altobelli v. General Motors, LLC, two related appeals in the Sixth Circuit, both filed 23 January 2026. Appellee briefs went in on 3 and 5 August 2026, and GM’s counsel wrote to the court about oral-argument scheduling in the same week. These are live as you read this.
Cases on the public record
Each of these was matched on case name in the federal docket on 11 August 2026, and each links to its own record so you can read it yourself. Docket numbers repeat across districts, so a number on its own proves nothing — the case name is what identifies a case.
| Case | What the docket says |
|---|---|
| Cochran v. General Motors LLC 3:26-cv-05329, W.D. Wash. | Open. Filed 2 April 2026, with twelve named parties. GM moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim on 15 June 2026; most recent entry 7 July 2026. |
| Robin Altobelli v. General Motors, LLC 26-1079, 6th Cir. | On appeal, active. Sixth Circuit, filed 23 January 2026. Appellee brief filed 3 August 2026; counsel corresponded on oral-argument scheduling the same week. |
| Tolmasoff v. General Motors, LLC 2:16-cv-11747, E.D. Mich. | Settled. Order of 6 November 2017 granting final approval of the class action settlement, certifying the class, awarding fees and service awards, and entering final judgment, before Judge George Caram Steeh. |
| Woronko v. General Motors LLC 2:19-cv-13449, E.D. Mich. | Dismissed. Opinion and order granting GM’s motion to dismiss, 26 August 2022, with judgment the same day before Judge Sean F. Cox; notice of appeal served the following month. |
| Goldstein v. General Motors LLC 3:19-cv-01778, S.D. Cal. | Dismissed. Order granting a joint motion to dismiss, 19 July 2023, before Judge Robert S. Huie. |
Where the status comes from. These are read from each docket’s own entries, not from a summary elsewhere. Two limits are worth knowing. The public docket mirror does not carry the text of every entry, so where an entry has no description this page says what it can date rather than invent what it said. And a case with no termination date on file is unknown, not open — a blank field is not a finding.
What we removed, and why. An earlier version of this page listed a “Bolt EV battery recall settlement”, a “Silverado 8-speed transmission class action” and an “OnStar data-sharing class action”. Not one carried a case name, a court or a docket number, and none could be matched to a federal docket. They are gone. A claim you cannot check is worth less than no claim at all.
What you can actually do
1. Search under General Motors LLC, not Chevy or GMC. Every case above is captioned against General Motors LLC. Searching a docket for the badge on your car is the most common reason people conclude nothing is happening when several things are.
2. Watch the motion to dismiss, not the filing. A newly filed class action tells you almost nothing. Cochran will be decided in large part by the motion GM filed on 15 June 2026. That is the entry worth checking back on.
3. Keep the VIN, the purchase paperwork and every repair order. Vehicle class settlements are administered on VIN and service history. Without them you cannot prove you are in the class even when you are.
4. Do not confuse a recall with a settlement. A recall is a free repair with nothing to claim. A settlement resolves a lawsuit and may or may not pay. The same defect can produce both.
How we checked this page
Verified on 11 August 2026. Cases were found by searching the federal docket for General Motors’s corporate name, then each docket was opened and its entries read for the events that decide a class action — certification, dismissal, settlement approval, remand. GM’s consumer terms could not be retrieved — every route returned 404 — so this page asserts nothing about arbitration and confines itself to what the dockets record. We publish what the record shows and say plainly where it stops.
Class Action Buddy is a self-service tool: it fills in claim forms for settlements that have reached the claims stage so you can review, sign and submit them yourself. We do not file on anyone’s behalf, and we are not lawyers — nothing here is legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a GM or Chevy class action I can join in 2026?
There is live litigation. Cochran v. General Motors LLC was filed on 2 April 2026 in Washington and GM moved to dismiss it in June, and two Altobelli appeals are being briefed in the Sixth Circuit as of August 2026. Neither has an open claims process. In a certified class you are usually included automatically rather than signing up.
Why can I not find these cases when I search for Chevy?
Because Chevrolet is a brand, not the defendant. Every case listed here is captioned against General Motors LLC, which is the company that gets sued. Searching for the badge on the car returns nothing useful.
Has a GM class action ever actually settled?
Yes. In Tolmasoff v. General Motors, LLC the Eastern District of Michigan granted final approval of a class action settlement, certified the class and entered final judgment on 6 November 2017.
What does it mean that GM filed a motion to dismiss?
It means GM is arguing the complaint fails as a matter of law before any evidence is weighed. It is the stage most consumer class actions die at, and it is decided long before anyone is asked to file a claim.
Is a recall the same as a settlement?
No. A recall is a free repair the manufacturer performs and there is nothing to claim. A settlement is a court-approved resolution of a lawsuit, which may or may not include a payment.
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