Legal News

Veteran Plaintiffs? Attorneys Take Early Lead In Toyota Class Action

By Dionne Searcey

It's hard to find a law firm these days that doesn't have a piece of the Toyota (class) action. We can't blame attorneys for wanting to get involved in the unfolding drama that includes life-risking mysterious accelerations, a foreign firm with a secretive culture humbled before Congress, a possible whistleblower in the shadows…we could go on and on.

As we've said on the blog here and here , there's a battle royale brewing over who gets to take the lead in the case. Factions are forming and fracturing, tense meetings have been held and fiery emails are being hurtled through cyberspace in an attempt to sort it all out. At stake: as much as a $500 million pot of money in fees that a handful of attorneys will split.

We already know who will lead the defense for Toyota: Cari Dawson, who has experience defending numerous class-action cases.

A recent order from James Selna, the federal judge tasked with sorting out the plaintiffs’ side, said he would eventually appoint one or more attorneys to take the lead and a committee of attorneys to handle discovery requests.

For now, he singled out three attorneys to represent the plaintiffs in the days leading up to an initial hearing, on May 13, for the nearly 100 suits that have been filed: Elizabeth Cabraser, at Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein in San Francisco; Steve Berman, in Seattle’s Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro and Marc Seltzer, in Susman Godfrey's Los Angeles office. The National Law Journal mentions them in a story today about the $16.4 million regulatory fine Toyota has agreed to pay.

So who exactly are the lucky three, at least for now? According to NLJ, Cabraser was among the lead attorneys in a 2007 class action involving consumers who had safety concerns about their Ford Explorers with Firestone tires. Berman represented plaintiffs in suits involving the Exxon Valdez oil spill and secured a $92 million settlement in securities litigation against Boeing. Seltzer has also worked on antitrust and securities cases along with numerous class actions.

Selna's order said the designations he gave to the three attorneys are temporary and "not a precursor of future appointments but simply a means to initiate the process."

We're betting a pretty penny that each of the initial nominees will do whatever it takes to stay in the pole position. We couldn't reach Cabraser and Seltzer but a couple days ago Berman made his own pitch.

"I think I've demonstrated a fabulous track record in complex high-profile class actions," Berman told the Law Blog.

Berman also noted he's heard from a host of new best friends: other attorneys who are lobbying him to have a key role in the litigation if he ends up in a permanent leadership position.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on April 20, 2010 (boomark / email).