Hagens Appointed Lead Counsel in Three High Profile Multi-District Litigation Class Actions

In an unusual honor, Hagens Berman’s managing partner Steve W. Berman was recently named as co-lead counsel in three high-profile class-action lawsuits against General Motors (NYSE: GM), Lumber Liquidators (NYSE: LL) and retailers selling fraudulent supplements.

General Motors

The General Motors case covers claims resulting from personal injuries and diminished vehicle value related to GM’s recall of millions of vehicles over faulty ignition switches and other possible defects.

Since February 2014, GM recalled millions of vehicles for ignition switch problems which have been linked to at least 124 fatalities and many injuries. According to published reports and government documents, GM had knowledge of the serious defect as early as 2001, but critics charge that the company ignored warnings of the defect’s severity and did not warn consumers.

Judge Furman stated that his selection criteria included firms’ experiences handling complex litigation, their automotive experience and ability to represent the interests of a diverse group of plaintiffs. The Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) currently contains at least 109 lawsuits, including more than 90 economic loss suits and about a dozen personal injury cases.

Lumber Liquidators

The case against Lumber Liquidators concerns the flooring company’s sales of formaldehyde-tainted flooring and alleges that Lumber Liquidators sold noncompliant composite flooring containing hazardous levels of cancer-causing formaldehyde.

The suit seeks to represent a nationwide class of consumers who allege that Lumber Liquidators sold the flooring manufactured in China tainted with formaldehyde while falsely labeling their products as meeting or exceeding California Air Resources Board emissions standards.

Fraudulent Supplements

The class-action lawsuit against some of the country’s largest retailers allege major fraud in the $6 billion per year herbal supplement market. The suit was filed on behalf of consumers who purchased supplements from GNC, Target, Walgreens and Walmart that have been found to contain no traces of purported healthful ingredients listed on the supplements’ labels, and in some cases other ingredients not disclosed on the packaging.

“Millions of consumers across the nation have been duped by GNC, Target, Walmart and Walgreens and have spent years purchasing fake and fraudulent products,” said Steve Berman. “As lead counsel, we plan to fight for the consumers who were blindsided by these major retailers.”

Major League Baseball: Ignoring Safety Risks

Hagens Berman filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of season ticket holders against the commissioner of Major League Baseball (MLB), Rob Manfred, and the office of the commissioner, alleging failure to enact safety measures against the danger of foul ball and bat injuries.

The lawsuit alleges that tens of millions attend an MLB game annually, and every year fans of all ages suffer horrific and preventable injuries, such as blindness, skull fractures, severe concussions and brain hemorrhages, when they are struck by a fast-moving ball or flying shrapnel from a shattered bat.

The lawsuit seeks to change current MLB rules, including requiring the MLB to retrofit all existing major and minor league ballparks to extend protective netting from foul pole to foul pole by the beginning of the 2016 season. Plaintiffs also seek a program to study spectator injuries so that precautionary measures can continue to evolve as the sport continues to evolve. Sixty-five incidents have occurred since the complaint was filed on July 13, 2015.

Nestlé & Mars: Slave Labor

Hagens Berman has filed two separate class actions against Nestlé and Mars for their practices of importing fish-based pet food from suppliers who use slave labor. Specifically, Nestlé and Mars import pet food from a company called Thai Union Frozen Products.

According to filed complaints, Thai Union relies on forced or slave labor to catch the fish used in fish-based Fancy Feast and Iams-brand cat foods. These men and boys are victims of many human rights violations. They are trafficked from countries neighboring Thailand, sold to fishing boats by brokers and smugglers and forced to work under physical violence, emotional abuse and verbal threats.

In violation of California law, Nestlé and Mars do not disclose that their supplier employs these forced labor practices and instead continue to profit from the slave labor used to make their products.

Hagens Berman Partners Invest in the Future of Cycling

Hagens Berman has partnered with Axeon Cycling Team to form one of the world’s leading cycling development programs, Axeon Hagens Berman, along with other sponsors NEON Adventures, SRAM®, American Proficiency Institute, Specialized Bicycle Components, California Giant Berry Farms and Velofix.

Axeon Cycling Team general manager, Axel Merckx, said the new sponsorship program will allow the re-branded team to continue its tradition of nurturing and advancing young, talented riders from the amateur ranks to the highest level of the sport. The additional funding will be channeled toward training, personal coaching, conditioning, bike fittings, performance counseling, physiological assessments and technical training, he said.

“This is a natural move for Hagens Berman in our support for promising young talent in their rise to compete at the highest levels of cycling and forge the skills to succeed both on and off the bike,” said Steve Berman.

Hagens Berman has sponsored one of the longest-running UCI road racing teams registered in the USA, Jamis-Hagens Berman, and also bolstered the Hagens Berman U-23 Cycling Program. With the new Axeon Hagens Berman team, Berman said the firm looks forward to focusing on the Under 23 level.

“We want to provide young riders with opportunities and experiences that can change their lives forever,” he said.

Outside the courtroom, many members of Hagens Berman’s legal team enjoy cycling to work and on the weekend.

Lawsuit Alleges SeaWorld Deceives Public While Orcas Suffer

SeaWorld customers have filed a groundbreaking class-action lawsuit against SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. alleging that SeaWorld deliberately conceals the unethical treatment and conditions of its captive orcas, including psychoactive drugging, forced separation of calves from mothers, forced and unnatural breeding, and cramped conditions that lead to aggression and disease according to attorneys at Hagens Berman.

On Aug. 7, 2015, a California federal judge consolidated three putative class actions in the Southern District of California. Shayne Stevenson of Hagens Berman said, "We agree with the decision and our clients look forward to litigating the case in San Diego."

The lawsuit states that SeaWorld has also hidden dangers to whale trainers, misleading the public through a “deceptive and false illusion” that its whales are thriving and well cared for when the opposite is true. The lawsuit seeks to represent hundreds of thousands of visitors to SeaWorld’s entertainment parks located in California, Florida and Texas.

 “The deceptive and false illusion carefully scripted by SeaWorld that these orcas thrive and are willing – if not eager – performers has been created for the public and has concealed not only the mistreatment of these animals, but also concealed orca behavior that evidences how their captive lives at SeaWorld are harmful to their welfare,” the complaint reads.

Consumer Class Action Against Auto Manufacturers of Deadly Keyless Fob Ignition Systems     

Hagens Berman and Labaton Sucharow have filed a nationwide consumer class action against manufacturers of cars that use keyless fob ignition systems, including Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Volkswagen, among others.

Keyless fobs replace traditional keys in many modern vehicles, but unlike physical keys, do not turn the engine off. In the past few years there have been at least 13 deaths and many serious injuries from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by the cars at issue. The complaint alleges that when drivers leave these cars with the engine left silently running—a common occurrence—there is no automatic shut off to protect drivers and their families. The plaintiffs claim that this convenience feature, often a pricey add-on, was made without the institution of adequate safeguards, and automakers have misrepresented those vehicles as being safe.

Plaintiffs seek injunctive relief to eliminate the safety hazard, as well as the recovery of drivers’ economic losses.

 “What is shocking is that many of the automakers have filed patents for new technology designed to fix the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning, but they aren’t fixing their cars on the road,” commented Steve Berman.