Hundreds of Class Action Lawsuits Now Consolidated in Federal Court.
SAN DIEGO – A San Francisco federal judge has appointed leading San Diego plaintiffs’ attorney David S. Casey, Jr. to the national VW Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee overseeing litigation targeting Volkswagen over its diesel emissions scandal. The managing partner of San Diego’s oldest plaintiffs’ firm CaseyGerry, Casey Jr. is the only San Diego attorney selected to serve on the committee, one of the largest in class action history.
Following a rigorous vetting process, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who is presiding over the VW MDL (No. 2672, In Re: Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices And Products Liability Litigation) pending in federal court in San Francisco, appointed the 22-member nationwide steering committee to oversee hundreds of class action lawsuits filed on behalf of car owners, dealers, lessees and others.
“I am honored by this appointment and to be working on this very important matter before Judge Breyer,” David S. Casey, Jr. said. “I look forward to working under the direction of lead counsel Elizabeth Cabraser and with this committee of very talented attorneys to quickly bring these claims to a fair resolution for the consumers and businesses nationwide that were adversely impacted by the VW emissions scandal.”
Volkswagen first came under fire last September when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accused the carmaker of utilizing software designed to dupe federal emission regulators into believing certain cars met Clean Air Act Standards. According to reports, once the cars were out of the lab, emissions control software was deactivated – the vehicles then actually emitted harmful pollutants at rates of up to 40 times of acceptable standards.
Following the scandal, CaseyGerry filed a class action on behalf of several consumers – seeking compensation for them and those similarly affected by Volkswagen’s fraud and violation of state regulations. The MDL was formed with a goal of avoiding duplicative discovery, conserving resources and expediting resolution. Under leadership of chair Elizabeth Cabraser of Leiff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, the MDL steering committee was appointed by Judge Breyer to conduct the pretrial stage of all cases consolidated in the United States District Court, Northern District of California in San Francisco.
Casey Jr. is part of a nationwide steering committee of 21 additional attorneys, which includes such noted litigators as David Boies of Boies, Schiller & Flexner and Frank Mario Pitre of Cotchett, Pitre and McCarthy LLP.
Casey Jr. has spent more than 35 years practicing law. He is past president of the American Association of Trial Lawyers (now known as the American Association for Justice) and has been lauded with more than 60 professional awards throughout his career including a perpetual award in his honor, the “David S. Casey, Jr. Consumer Advocate Award” from the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego.
About CaseyGerry
Casey Gerry was established in 1947, and is the oldest plaintiffs’ law firm in San Diego. The firm’s 15 attorneys practice in numerous areas, including serious personal injury, product liability, pharmaceutical, mass tort, aviation and class action litigation. Headquartered at 110 Laurel St. in the Banker’s Hill neighborhood of San Diego, the firm also has an office in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif. For more information, call 619-238-1811.
