GM Ignition Judge Names Lead Lawyers From Toyota Cases
Steve W. Berman, Elizabeth Cabraser and Mark P. Robinson Jr., who helped arrange a $1.6 billion settlement with Toyota over lost vehicle value, will “initiate the process” in the GM litigation, U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman in Manhattan said in a June 24 order.
“These temporary designations are not a precursor of future appointments,” Furman said.
General Motors has recalled 2.59 million compact cars with potentially faulty ignition switches linked to at least 13 deaths. Customers have filed at least 87 proposed class actions seeking reimbursement for lost value of the recalled vehicles.
The suits are combined before Furman’s Manhattan court in a multidistrict proceeding that will address pretrial matters including evidence gathering. Furman set an initial conference to organize the suits for Aug. 11.
The case is In Re General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation, 14-md-2543, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
To contact the reporter on this story: Margaret Cronin Fisk in Detroit at mcfisk@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net Andrew Dunn, Joe Schneider
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-06-26/gm-ignition-judge-names-lead-lawyers-from-toyota-cases
