Panelists will also be discussing various topics on securities litigation as well as artificial intelligence and ethics. NASCAT is a volunteer membership organization founded in 1988 which advocates for strict legal protections for investors and consumers. NASCAT is dedicated to representing victims of fraud, educating the public, and ensuring corporate accountability in order to improve access to justice for those who have been harmed.

For more information, visit the NASCAT website.

About Douglas Cuthbertson

A partner in Lieff Cabraser’s New York office, Douglas Cuthbertson has a practice focused on domestic and international consumer fraud cases, digital privacy, and securities fraud.

His past and present work includes securities litigation against the Brazilian petroleum corporation Petrobras, a financial fraud action against Morgan Stanley, consumer litigation against Volkswagen, as well as an airline overcharging case against British Airways where he was designated as Class Counsel (Dover v. British Airways).  Doug has also litigated numerous class action consumer protection cases under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act against large banks, satellite service providers, and utilities, helping result in the largest monetary settlements in the history of the TCPA to end harassing robocalls to millions of consumers.

Doug has acted in digital privacy litigation against Google, Disney, Viacom, and others, including as co-counsel for the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office and as Class Counsel in McDonald v. Kiloo A/S (and two related actions) on behalf of parents concerning the unlawful collection and use of their children’s personal information from mobile games to track and monetize kids. Leading nonprofit advocates described these settlements as “the biggest change to the children’s app market,” impacting Defendants’ “business models” to prevent children from being “targeted with the most insidious and manipulative forms of marketing.”

The settlement will resolve all remaining personal injury, consumer class action, and government entity cases brought in the national MDL and the JCCP in California against Altria (the earlier phase of the vast litigation ended in late 2022 when JUUL entered into four substantial coordinated settlements with all plaintiff parties).

The settlement includes over 8,500 personal injury cases, and over 1,400 government entity cases, and a massive class of consumers. “The scope of these suits is beyond vast,” noted Sarah R. London, Co-Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs in the litigation. “This settlement, in combination with the earlier JUUL settlements, marks a stunning and complete resolution of the JUUL/Altria litigation, and adds substantial additional compensation for victims and their families, get real funds to schools for abatement programs, and help local governments further prevent youth use of e-cigarettes across America.”

The near five-year legal battle involving three small yet steadfast Kona coffee farms against 22 major entities resulted in a significant $122 million economic relief settlement. This includes $41 million in direct cash payments to the farmers as well as pivotal changes in labeling and business practices to ensure the authenticity and integrity of Kona coffee products.

The settlements, which are some of the largest in the industry, aim to safeguard the integrity of Kona coffee. They also compel involved companies to disclose the actual percentage of Kona beans in their products, marking a significant step towards transparency and protecting the heritage and hard work of around 600 to 1,000 local farms cultivating this premium product. This result is not just a win for the Kona coffee community, but also sets a precedent discouraging the misuse of geographic names in marketing globally.

Read the full article on The New York Times website.

Learn more about the Kona Coffee Class Action Advertising Fraud Litigation.

Judge Lasnik’s ruling brings an end to a four-year-old class action lawsuit, in which defendants, including coffee roasting companies as well as large resellers such as Costco, Walmart, Amazon and Kroger, have agreed to pay more than $41 million to the Kona growers, and have agreed to a host of labeling and business practice changes to ensure accurate and reliable labeling of Kona coffee products. Those strictures are projected to generate more than $81 million in economic value for the growers over the next five years.

In approving the latest settlement, Judge Lasnik described this litigation as one “of the most impressive class action cases I have dealt with in my time on the federal bench, and the results as “great for justice … a real result that makes people whole again.”

Lieff Cabraser brought the suit on behalf of the farmers in 2019, claiming that only coffee harvested from Hawaii’s Big Island is actually Kona coffee, and that those companies — almost two dozen named in the original suit — were selling beans and ground coffee under the name without buying from them, in violation of the Lanham Act. The David vs. Goliath style case pitted three small, longtime Kona coffee farms against 22 major coffee suppliers and retailers, selling a variety of mislabeled coffee products across the country in multiple channels of commerce.

Learn more about the Kona Coffee Class Action Advertising Fraud Litigation.

On Friday October 6, 2023, the Sub-District Court of Oost-Brabant (‘s-Hertogenbosch) ruled that Volkswagen must compensate yet another Dutch Dieselgate consumer who purchased a VW vehicle containing illegal defeat device software. The Court ruled that Volkswagen must pay €4440 – the equivalent of 10% of the vehicle’s purchase price.

This is the latest of four lawsuits brought by the Volkswagen Group Diesel Efficiency Foundation (VGDES) (a Dutch organization representing consumer rights) and Consumentenbond (the Dutch consumer rights organization) on behalf of consumers defrauded by VW. Earlier this year, in March, April and July 2023, other Dutch courts all ruled against Volkswagen finding that it must pay damages to Dutch consumers who similarly purchased vehicles equipped with illegal software. In those prior rulings, the courts awarded €3,000 for an impacted new VW diesel vehicle and €1,500 for a used one. In this latest opinion, the judge increased the penalty finding that those amounts were too low, and determining that the appropriate sanction was a percentage of the vehicle’s purchase price.

 A Fourth Defeat for Volkswagen

“This is the fourth time in a row that the Court has ruled against Volkswagen,” said Dick Bouma, chairman of VGDES. “The judge swept aside all VW’s technical legal defenses, and simply found that the car maker deceived consumers. Courts here and all over the world have determined that the company has deliberately misled consumers, including by promoting these diesel cars as environmentally friendly.  It is time for Volkswagen to compensate harmed consumers.”

Volkswagen Should Resolve the Claims of the Hundreds of Thousands Dutch Consumers

Sandra Molenaar, Consumentenbond CEO, is pleased with the ruling and looks ahead: “So far we have won all four lawsuits against VW concerning its illegal use of defeat device software in diesel cars. Following this even stronger decision, we again invite Volkswagen to engage in settlement talks. Hopefully, the company is now prepared to compensate all affected Dutch consumers. If not, there are thousands of individual cases we can file against the Company. And, if necessary, we will take each and every case to court to hold Volkswagen accountable and to force the Company to compensate all impacted consumers.”

Links

• March: https://www.consumentenbond.nl/nieuws/2023/doorbraak-in-volkswagen-dieselschandaal-rechter-wijst-compensatie-toe
• April: https://www.consumentenbond.nl/nieuws/2023/weer-succes-in-rechtszaak-om-volkswagen-sjoemeldiesel
• July: https://www.consumentenbond.nl/nieuws/2023/volkswagen-moet-eigenaar-tweedehands-sjoemeldiesel-1500euro-betalen
• October: https://www.consumentenbond.nl/nieuws/2023/volkswagen-opnieuw-veroordeeld-in-dieselgate-procedure

On July 18, 2023, the Judge Lynn S. Adelman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin issued an Order naming Lieff Cabraser Nashville Office Managing Partner Mark P. Chalos as Co-Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs in the nationwide marketing and sales practices and products liability litigation against Generac Solar Power Systems over claims its PWRCell System components are defective and potentially dangerous.

As detailed in Plaintiffs’ Complaint, Generac Power Systems’ PWRCell System components can malfunction and overheat, causing system shutdowns and loss of energy production. The malfunctioning and overheating of components in the Generac systems have been linked to several reported fires. Generac did not disclose the defects to consumers, and has not recalled the units, nor has Generac informed the public of the ongoing safety risks its systems pose and that the systems do not meet the representations Generac made about their quality, function, and safety. The systems at issue include the PWRCell System with SnapRS 801 and SnapRS 801A switches.

“It is a privilege to be appointed to serve the consumers who purchased these problematic Generac solar power systems,” notes Chalos. “We look forward to moving the litigation forward and getting relief for these families.”

The Court’s Order will govern the practice and procedure of all Generac cases transferred to the Wisconsin federal court by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, and its provisions for Mark and the other co-lead counsel will guide their coordinated efforts to set plaintiffs’ position on all matters arising in the litigation, coordinate discovery, conduct settlement negotiations, and generally monitor and administer all plaintiff efforts in the case.

Learn more about the Generac Solar Energy Systems defective products litigation.

About Mark P. Chalos

The Managing Partner of Lieff Cabraser’s Nashville office, Mark P. Chalos (twitter: @mpchalos) represents individuals who have suffered catastrophic personal injuries and families whose loved ones died due to the negligence or misconduct of others. In the national opioids litigation, Mark represents counties and cities across the U.S., as well as Native American Tribes and health benefit plans. Most recently, Mark served as trial counsel in the national bellwether trial on behalf of the City and County of San Francisco, which resulted in a successful verdict for plaintiffs.

Mark has tried cases to juries and judges around the country. He serves in the leadership of numerous class actions and multidistrict litigations. He is president of the Tennessee Trial Lawyers Association, an adjunct professor at Vanderbilt University Law School, a frequent speaker at legal seminars nationwide on a variety of civil litigation topics, and is regularly cited by top-tier media outlets.

May 10, 2023, San Francisco—(BUSINESSWIRE)—Plaintiffs’ Co-Lead Counsel announce a comprehensive and historic $235 million settlement with Altria in the sprawling nationwide JUUL e-cigarette youth vaping predatory advertising, fraud, addiction and injury litigation currently facing bellwether trial in San Francisco. The settlement will resolve all remaining personal injury, consumer class action, and government entity cases brought in the national MDL and the JCCP in California against Altria (the earlier phase of the vast litigation ended in late 2022 when JUUL entered into four coordinated settlements with all plaintiff parties).

“To call this global settlement with Altria momentous is an understatement,” states Lieff Cabraser partner Sarah R. London, Co-Lead Counsel for Plaintiffs in the litigation. “Unprecedented in speed of attainment, scope, and impact, it will provide extraordinary and truly meaningful relief for youth, parents, and governmental organizations nationwide in a comprehensive resolution that avoids the delay of further trial and possible appeals, bringing closure to litigation brought on behalf of children, teens, young adults, parents, schools, health departments, and really, on behalf of everyone across the nation. This is an extraordinary outcome. We could not be more proud of the courage, resolution and persistence of our clients, and are delighted with this superlative result.”

Together with the earlier settlements with JUUL in the federal multidistrict litigation captioned In re: Juul Labs, Inc., Marketing, Sales Practices and Products Liability Litigation, MDL No. 2913, and the coordinated proceeding captioned Juul Labs Product Cases, JCCP No. 5052, the settlements with Altria (nee Philip Morris) announced today will directly address youth use of e-cigarettes nationwide.

The Altria settlement follows four years of hard-fought litigation in both state and federal court. Co-Lead Counsel believe that resolving the litigation against Altria and its officers and directors through settlement is categorically in the best interests of all plaintiffs. The settlement builds on Plaintiffs’ earlier successful efforts to hold Juul itself accountable, and will provide monetary relief as well as continuing mandatory changes to Juul/Altria’s marketing and other practices, including prohibitions on youth marketing and the sale of flavors not authorized by the FDA.

The Altria settlement brings a final resolution to the personal injury, consumer class action, and government entity cases brought in the MDL and the JCCP brought on behalf of children and families everywhere in the U.S.

This last-shoe-dropping settlement in the JUUL e-cigarette youth harm cases will provide meaningful compensation to people suffering from nicotine addiction and other injuries, and will further remunerate consumers who purchased JUUL products as well as providing new and much-needed resources to school districts, cities, and counties to abate youth nicotine addiction in their communities.

The Altria settlements include over 8,500 personal injury cases, and over 1,400 government entity cases, and a massive class of consumers. “The scope of these suits is beyond vast,” London also notes. “This settlement, in combination with the earlier JUUL settlements, marks a stunning and complete resolution of the JUUL/Altria litigation, and adds substantial additional compensation for victims and their families, get real funds to schools for abatement programs, and help local governments further prevent youth use of e-cigarettes across America.”

Next Steps

The Court will hold a hearing in the near future to review the proposed class settlement. If the settlement receives preliminary approval, a Class Settlement Administrator will be appointed to structure and initiate a formal claims process. At that time, the Class Settlement Administrator will notify class members about their rights under the Settlement. Concurrently, a claims process will begin for the Personal Injury and Government Entity settlements.

Source/Contact

Sarah London
LIEFF CABRASER HEIMANN & BERNSTEIN, LLP
275 Battery Street, Fl. 29
San Francisco, CA 94111
Telephone: (415) 956-1000
Email: slondon (at) lchb.com

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About Avery Halfon

Avery Halfon is an associate in Lieff Cabraser’s New York office, where he represents victims of corporate greed, negligence, and other misconduct. He litigates on behalf of groups injured through deceptive overcharge schemes, harmful products, sexual abuse, discrimination, and more. His cases with Lieff Cabraser have successfully subjected national banks to state consumer protection laws, defeated major telecoms’ attempts to force arbitration and immunize themselves from customer accountability, and won more than $300 million for class members.