Dagney Johnson Burt v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

── Dagney Johnson Burt v. Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: May 07, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 25-12623 Document: 22-1 Date Filed: 05/07/2026 Page: 1 of 12 NOT FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 25-12623 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ DAGNEY JOHNSON BURT, Plaintiff-Appellant, versus VOLKSWAGEN GROUP OF AMERICA, INC., Defendant-Appellee. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama D.C. Docket No. 2:24-cv-01693-RDP ____________________ Before JILL PRYOR, BRANCH, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Dagney Burt appeals the dismissal of her lawsuit against Volkswagen Group of America (“Volkswagen”). On appeal, Burt USCA11 Case: 25-12623 Document: 22-1 Date Filed: 05/07/2026 Page: 2 of 12 2 Opinion of the Court 25-12623 argues that the district court erred when it dismissed her fraudu- lent suppression, negligence, and Alabama Deceptive Trade Prac- tices Act (“ADTPA”), Ala. Stat. § 8-19-1 et seq, claims as inade- quately pled. She also argues the court erred when it denied her motion to reconsider pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 59(e) and 60(b)(2). We write only for the parties who are already familiar with the facts. Therefore, we include only so many of the facts as is ap- propriate to understand our opinion. I. FACTS Burt purchased her Volkswagen Atlas new in 2022 and it was warranted for 4 years or 50,000 miles, whichever came first. After driving it for over 57,000 miles in two years, Burt took the car to the dealership because of an oil leak. The dealer determined that the car’s oil separator was sticking, causing the leak. The dealer quoted her a price for the repair because the car was by then out of warranty. Burt declined the repair. Burt continued to drive the car and the oil leak worsened. She had to refill the oil frequently. On May 21, 2025, the car broke down because the rotator belt snapped, having been compromised by the oil leak. Burt replaced the rotator belt and battery and left Birmingham for Gulf Shores, Alabama, two days later. During the one-day trip, she added ten quarts of oil. However, shortly before reaching her destination, the air conditioner stopped working and oil began spewing out of the back of the car. Once she reached her destination, Burt had the car towed back to Birmingham, to the USCA11 Case: 25-12623 Document: 22-1 Date Filed: 05/07/2026 Page: 3 of 12 25-12623 Opinion of the Court 3 dealer. The dealer repaired the oil leak but also needed to install a new rotator belt and air conditioner compressor as well as fix a problem with the check engine light and leak detection pump. Before the events in May 2025, Burt had already filed suit against Volkswagen in December 2024. In April 2025, she amended her complaint to be a class action lawsuit. Her operative first amended complaint alleged breach of express warranty, breach of implied warranty, negligence, unjust enrichment, fraud and sup- pression, violation of the Alabama Deceptive