Hagens Berman's automotive litigation team has been named a Practice Group of the Year by Law360 in 2018 and 2016, highlighting its "eye toward landmark matters and general excellence," in this area of law.
Hagens Berman’s Steve Berman was appointed co-lead counsel in the massive MDL alleging that Toyota vehicles contained a defect causing sudden, unintended acceleration and secured the largest automotive litigation settlement in history, at that time – a $1.6 billion settlement – one that Judge Selna called, “extraordinary because every single dollar in the cash fund will go to claimants.”
This victory spurred the firm to continue to achieve tremendous victories for classes of consumers, going above the mark to ensure that settlements are not only fair and adequate in making plaintiffs whole, but that they are used in the most efficient and advantageous ways to effect change in the auto industry.
PROTECTING CONSUMERS THROUGH AUTO LITIGATION
Hagens Berman has also taken a stand against General Motors, serving as co-lead counsel on behalf of consumers who suffered series of recalls following the installment of faulty ignition switches, which led to more than 100 fatalities and countless injuries across the country. This pending action isn’t the firm’s first bout with GM. Hagens Berman also served as co-lead counsel on behalf of General Motors ERISA plan participants and their beneficiaries, resulting in a $37.5 million settlement.
LEADING AUTOMOTIVE DEFECT ATTORNEYS
In 2012, Hagens Berman began litigation against automakers Hyundai and Kia for overstating the fuel efficiency for many of the vehicles sold to U.S. consumers. In August of 2014, Hagens Berman attorneys secured a $255 million settlement for owners of affected vehicles.
The impact of the firm's cases, however, goes beyond the amounts awarded to consumers. Hagens Berman strives to impact the industry’s practices as well. Whenever possible the firm seeks to craft settlements that entail long-lasting benefits to the public as a whole and also serve as punishment to help deter future fraud in the auto industry. Our notable automotive settlements include a $30 million fund for automotive safety research and driver education.
EMISSIONS-CHEATING LAWSUITS
The firm was also named to a leadership position in the class-action lawsuit brought against Volkswagen on behalf of tens of thousands of owners and lessors of Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche diesel vehicles containing VW’s illegal “defeat device,” which culminated in the largest ever settlement against an automaker – $14.7 billion. Hagens Berman is proud to have been the first firm to file a lawsuit against VW regarding the Dieselgate scandal. The firm also solidified a monumental $1.2 billion settlement on behalf of owners of Volkswagen dealerships who had been blindsided by the automaker's fraud and concealed emissions-cheating.
Fast on the heels of this litigation, the firm began spearheading research into the diesel industry, finding that Volkswagen was not the only perpetrator of diesel emissions-cheating. Hagens Berman is uniquely dedicated to this cause, and is the only firm that has purchased an emission testing machine to determine if other diesel car manufacturers install similar cheating devices, bringing new cases based on the firm’s own research, time and testing. Hagens Berman’s managing partner, Steve Berman, has bolstered the firm’s unmatched dedication to upholding the rights of consumers and the environment, becoming a one-man EPA. The firm has single-handedly uncovered new defeat devices, and has filed similar suits against Mercedes, BMW, Ford, and multiple cases against GM and Fiat Chrysler. View the firm's emissions cases »
Read more about the firm's emissions-cheating practice area »
