LOS ANGELES - Consumer Legal Remedies (CLR) and Ford Motor Co. have reached a confidential settlement of approximately 760 cases in DPS6 powershift transmission multidistrict litigation.
U.S. District Judge Andre Birotte, Jr. announced that once finalized, the settlement will resolve the majority of the approximately 1,175 cases in the MDL. A little more than 400 cases remain in the MDL, according to Birotte's order.
"This settlement is a result of intensive settlement efforts between counsel for CLR and Ford Motor Company, and both sides represent that no other attorney in this MDL, beyond CLR and Ford’s attorneys, participated in any way in the settlement efforts," Birotte wrote. "Further, no other Parties’ counsel, nor Plaintiff Lead 'Liaison' Counsel, contributed toward advancing these CLR cases toward settlement."
Earlier this year, CLR filed notice of appeal at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on Birotte's dismissal of 15 of its cases.
Birotte had adopted a blistering report and recommendation of Magistrate Judge Frederick Mumm who oversees pre-trial discovery in the MDL.
Mumm found in his October report that CLR plaintiffs "willfully refused to comply with their discovery obligations."
"CLR plaintiffs engaged in the same pattern of obstructionist behaviour with respect to Ford’s first, second, and third sets of discovery requests and manipulated Ford into granting extensions of time, only to provide utterly frivolous objections-only responses," Mumm wrote.
Ford has maintained that CLR had obstructed discovery by refusing to produce "a single document" in response to repeated requests or provide "a single substantive" interrogatory answer during the discovery period.
Mumm wrote that CLR plaintiffs offered "no legally tenable justification for their behaviour," prejudicing Ford.
"The Court further concludes that Ford has been prejudiced and that any sanction other than dismissal would not ameliorate that prejudice," Mumm wrote.
In Birotte's June 16 order announcing the settlement, he indicated that it does not include any amount designated for civil penalites or any amount related to punitive damages.
"Accordingly, the fraud focused common discovery undertaken in this MDL played no part in the negotiated resolution of these cases," Birotte wrote. "The absence of any alleged fee claim incurred for common discovery work in this MDL facilitated the CLR cases resolution.
"CLR and Ford’s attorneys are diligently working on finalizing the settlement and will thereafter submit an omnibus request for an Order of dismissal with prejudice as to the CLR cases."
Ford's co-lead counsel includes attorneys at Shook Hardy & Bacon and Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani.
Attorney Allen-Michel D. Resnick is counsel for CLR plaintiffs.