December 14, 2015
The man taking General Motors to its first federal bellwether trial in the ignition switch multidistrict litigation argued Saturday that the automaker had not shown enough proof that he destroyed evidence relating to an accident last year in a 2003 Saturn Ion, or that the evidence at issue would have been favorable to it.
December 04, 2015
Parties in the first bellwether trial in multidistrict litigation over General Motors' allegedly faulty ignition switches can't bring up issues of "privilege" or "work product" during the trial, and must try not to ask questions likely to be covered by privilege, a New York federal judge ruled Thursday.
November 25, 2015
A New York federal court's ruling that communications between General Motors and its outside counsel King & Spalding over ignition switch-related settlements are privileged documents is a significant decision that shows the crime fraud exception to attorney-client communications cannot be invoked without evidence that a defendant's attorneys had a role in the alleged fraud.
September 17, 2015
General Motors Co. admitted in its $900 million criminal settlement that it knew about the deadly ignition switch defect two years before implementing a recall, but experts say the automaker will now try to blunt the impact of such disclosures on the civil multidistrict litigation by fighting to keep a jury from hearing them in an upcoming bellwether trial.
September 09, 2015
General Motors Co. and its outside counsel King & Spalding LLP argue that their swift settlements of ignition switch cases are grounded in deep-rooted traditions in American litigation, which defense attorneys agree pose tough hurdles for multidistrict litigation plaintiffs who claim such tactics helped conceal GM's ignition switch defect.
August 11, 2015
A New York federal judge on Tuesday mostly granted General Motors Co.'s desired restrictions on plaintiffs' questioning of Jenner & Block LLP chairman Anton Valukas in his upcoming deposition in the ignition switch multidistrict litigation.
August 07, 2015
Attorneys following the General Motors ignition switch defect litigation are particularly interested in the scope of Jenner & Block chairman Anton Valukas' upcoming deposition, while trial lawyers will pay close attention to the first bellwether case in the Lipitor multidistrict litigation as well as the performance of the Zoloft plaintiffs' key expert witness. Here, Law360 eyes the cases product liability attorneys will be tracking in the second half of the year.
July 23, 2015
General Motors Co. argued Wednesday that Jenner & Block LLP chairman Anton Valukas, who led the automaker's internal investigation of its slow recall of faulty ignition switches, should not have to answer many questions — including the basis of his conclusions — at an upcoming deposition in multidistrict litigation.
July 20, 2015
King & Spalding LLP attorneys representing General Motors LLC in multidistrict litigation over defective ignition switches asked a New York federal judge on Friday to deny a motion to unseal documents the plaintiffs claim reveal a criminal cover-up of the defect, saying it's not clear the documents are relevant.
June 29, 2015
Plaintiffs targeting General Motors Co. in the New York federal multidistrict litigation over its ignition switch defect lashed out against the automaker Friday, arguing that its motion for a protective order on pre-trial discovery is part of its strategy to 'spin' the media after its recall scandal.