Hagens Berman: GM Judge Denies Order to Remove Court-Appointed Lead Counsel
February 10 2016 - 1:12PM
Business Wire
In an order issued today, Judge Jesse M. Furman, overseeing the
General Motors (NYSE:GM) ignition switch multi-district litigation
(MDL), denied a motion to remove court-appointed lead counsel,
including Hagens Berman’s Steve Berman.
“The court’s opinion and the needs of our clients take
precedence over unwarranted, time-wasting motions, and we will
continue to focus on tenaciously leading this litigation,” said
Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman and co-lead counsel
representing GM vehicle owners in the suit. “We look forward to
continuing to best represent the plaintiffs in this case against GM
who have been victim to its egregious actions – they are what
matter most.”
In his order issued Feb. 10, 2016, Judge Furman characterized
the motions, filed by a single lawyer who was not supported by any
other attorneys, as “patently untimely” and providing “little or no
evidence to support their (sometimes wild) accusations of
impropriety and underhandedness on the part of Lead Counsel.”
Indeed, the court added that the motions did “not even come close
to providing a legal basis for the drastic step of removing lead
counsel in the middle of MDL proceedings that, “all things
considered, have proceeded remarkably smoothly and swiftly to date”
in this complex and multi-faceted litigation.
Steve Berman was appointed co-lead counsel representing owners
of GM vehicles in the MDL. The MDL arises from GM’s announcement
that over 20 million GM vehicles were plagued by a barrage of
safety defects and bungled recalls from GM that irrevocably damaged
GM’s brand, according to the firm.
Among the safety defects at issue is a defect that involves the
car’s ignition, which according to consumers, can switch off while
in operation, disabling airbags and other electrical and safety
features such as power steering and power brakes. According to
published reports, government documents, and GM’s own internal
documents, GM had knowledge of the ignition switch defect as early
as 2001, but the lawsuit charges that the company ignored warnings
of the defect’s severity and did not warn consumers.
About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is a consumer-rights
class-action law firm with offices in 10 cities. The firm has been
named to the National Law Journal’s Plaintiffs’ Hot List eight
times. More about the law firm and its successes can be found
at www.hbsslaw.com. Follow the firm for updates and news
at @ClassActionLaw.
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Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLPAshley Klann,
206-268-9363ashleyk@hbsslaw.com
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