SEATTLE – Hagens Berman’s automotive litigation team has been named a 2016 Practice Group of the Year by legal news line, Law360, which received 619 submissions for this year’s installation of the award program.

The Practice Group of the Year awards recognize the law firms that racked up victories in litigation and closed the big deals to make their mark among clients and throughout the legal industry, according to the publication. The winning firms were selected with “an eye toward landmark matters and general excellence,” across 34 practice areas.

“In 2016, Hagens Berman’s auto legal team hit the ground running, filing impactful cases against Mercedes, BMW, GM and other automakers, regarding emissions fraud and safety defects affecting millions,” said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman. “What motivates us is protecting the consumer – the otherwise powerless underdog – in transactions with many of the biggest corporations in the world.”

“When car makers engage in intentional fraud or are grossly negligent it can be devastating to consumers, many of whom spend a huge portion of their income on what they expect to be reliable, safe and environmentally legal transportation,” Berman added. “Our auto practice group will continue to make a difference for hard working consumers, and will fight with the same vigor that earned us this recognition.”

Hagens Berman filed the first Volkswagen diesel emissions fraud lawsuit and played a leading role in securing the largest automotive settlement in history in that case, a $14.7 billion settlement for owners of affected 2.0-liter Clean Diesel vehicles, with an additional settlement for owners of affected 3.0-liter Clean Diesel vehicles pending. On the heels of the Volkswagen consumer case, the firm was retained to represent Volkswagen dealers in a lawsuit against Volkswagen for their extensive damages from the diesel emissions scandal. Hagens Berman recently settled the dealers’ case against Volkswagen for over $1.6 billion in benefits to dealers with nearly $1.2 billion coming in cash.

Hagens Berman is co-lead in In re: General Motors LLC Ignition Switch Litigation, which is now swiftly moving toward a just result for affected consumers. The Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled that General Motors must face certain claims relating to cars made before its 2009 bankruptcy, a major victory for a class of millions of owners of GM-branded vehicles in the ignition switch multi-district litigation who claim that the automaker’s series of recalls and cover-ups irrevocably damaged GM’s brand and led to significant loss of vehicle value.

Hagens Berman’s successes included its ongoing class-action lawsuit against Ford, on behalf of owners of Ford vehicles equipped with MyFord Touch, an in-car communication and entertainment package. Owners claim the system is flawed, putting drivers at risk of accidents, and also causing economic losses. Judge Chen, of the Northern District of California, certified several of consumers’ claims for class treatment and created nine subclasses.

Profiles of the winning practice groups will begin running in the Law360 newsletters on Jan. 17, 2017.

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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 seven times. More about the law firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com. Find the firm on Twitter at http://twitter.com/classactionlaw.

Contact
Ashley Klann
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