GM Class Actions Transferred To Multidistrict Litigation Court
From Legal Newsline
The multiple class action lawsuits that were brought against General Motors for its allegedly defective key systems have been transferred to multidistrict litigation court.
The more than 40 lawsuits – which were previously filed in the districts in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas – have been transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to the transfer order filed June 9.
“The parties have suggested a number of able transferee districts and judges,” the order states. “We have settled upon the Southern District of New York as the most appropriate choice. The Southern District of New York is the site of the bankruptcies of both General Motors and Delphi.”
The Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court already has been called upon by both General Motors and certain plaintiffs to determine whether the 2009 General Motors bankruptcy Sale Order prohibits plaintiffs’ ignition switch defect lawsuits, according to the order.
“Several judges in this district, including Judge Jesse M. Furman, have heard appeals related to General Motors’ bankruptcy and, therefore, have some familiarity with the common defendant and its prior bankruptcy proceedings,” the order states. “Judge Furman is an experienced transferee judge with the ability to handle these complex proceedings expeditiously.”
A motion for centralization and coordination into MDL was first filed on March 24.
“The common questions of fact and law between the pending overlapping proposed class actions, the efficiencies to be gained through centralized discovery and motion practice and the alleviation of the risk of inconsistent pretrial rulings all favor centralization of these related cases concerning the alleged ignition switch defect," the motion stated.
One lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on March 24 by owners and lease-holders of GM cars, claimed GM concealed the problem for a decade.
Read more in our daily News Update...
From Legal Newsline
The multiple class action lawsuits that were brought against General Motors for its allegedly defective key systems have been transferred to multidistrict litigation court.
The more than 40 lawsuits – which were previously filed in the districts in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas – have been transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to the transfer order filed June 9.
“The parties have suggested a number of able transferee districts and judges,” the order states. “We have settled upon the Southern District of New York as the most appropriate choice. The Southern District of New York is the site of the bankruptcies of both General Motors and Delphi.”
The Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court already has been called upon by both General Motors and certain plaintiffs to determine whether the 2009 General Motors bankruptcy Sale Order prohibits plaintiffs’ ignition switch defect lawsuits, according to the order.
“Several judges in this district, including Judge Jesse M. Furman, have heard appeals related to General Motors’ bankruptcy and, therefore, have some familiarity with the common defendant and its prior bankruptcy proceedings,” the order states. “Judge Furman is an experienced transferee judge with the ability to handle these complex proceedings expeditiously.”
A motion for centralization and coordination into MDL was first filed on March 24.
“The common questions of fact and law between the pending overlapping proposed class actions, the efficiencies to be gained through centralized discovery and motion practice and the alleviation of the risk of inconsistent pretrial rulings all favor centralization of these related cases concerning the alleged ignition switch defect," the motion stated.
One lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on March 24 by owners and lease-holders of GM cars, claimed GM concealed the problem for a decade.
Read more in our daily News Update...