Lieff Cabraser partners David S. Stellings and Kenneth S. Byrd were featured as distinguished speakers at the inaugural Trial Lawyers of Mass Torts Conference which took place Tuesday and Wednesday, December 6-7 in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Kenny addressed “Mass Torts/Class Actions and Bankruptcy Issues” on December 6th, while David spoke on “Trends in Class Action Litigation,” on the 7th.
The two-day in-person event gave attendees access to gain practical class action insight from prominent circuit and district court judges, and to learn the latest practical developments in class action law.
To view the full conference agenda visit the event website.
About David Stellings
David S. Stellings represents consumers and small businesses from around the world in complex litigation in federal and state courts. For the last twenty-five years, Stellings has focused on consumer fraud, financial fraud, and breach of contract cases. Stellings’ clients and class members have received more than $12 billion as a result of his advocacy.
Mr. Stellings was part of the leadership team in the Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” multidistrict litigation, in which plaintiffs alleged that Volkswagen intentionally and systematically cheated its customers, lied to the government, and misled the public about the emissions of its diesel engine vehicles sold under the Volkswagen, Audi, and Porsche brands. In October 2016, the Court granted final approval to a settlement relating to 2.0-Liter engines worth approximately $10 billion, and in May 2017 the Court granted final approval to a settlement with VW for 3.0-Liter engines with an estimated value between $1.2 and $4 billion, and a separate settlement with Bosch valued at $327.5 million over its designing of the “defeat device” software in the affected VW vehicle engines.
Mr. Stellings also is on the leadership team in a case against various automakers who allegedly cheated fuel economy tests for certain gasoline-powered vehicles, and as a result, represented to regulators and consumers that the vehicles could obtain better fuel economy than they actually could. The litigation and intensive settlement negotiations resulted in a non-reversionary $96.5 million settlement that provides class members “full compensation”—i.e., 100¢ on the dollar—for their alleged losses. The settlement received preliminary approval, and the final approval hearing is scheduled for February 2020.
About Kenny Byrd
A partner in our Nashville office, Kenneth S. Byrd represents clients in mass tort cases, defective product cases and consumer fraud litigation. He is a leader in groundbreaking national litigation filed on behalf of Tennessee governments and taxpayers, among many others, against opioid manufacturers and distributors in the wake of the ongoing national opioids crisis. Kenny also serves on the Early Vetting Committee in the nationwide product defect lawsuit against 3M relating to allegations that for over a decade, 3M provided defective earplugs to men and women in the U.S. military.
In 2013 and 2014, Kenny was the lead trial attorney in obtaining several substantial jury verdicts for smokers and their families, including a $27 million jury verdict and a $41 million jury verdict. These verdicts were ranked by The National Law Journal among the Top 100 Verdicts of 2014 and paved the way to a $100 million global settlement with Big Tobacco in 2015 on behalf of hundreds of gravely injured smokers in Florida, the first smoker cases group settlement by the cigarette companies in history.
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