Class action settlement with major vehicle manufacturer regarding defective diesel engines

A Multidistrict Litigation proceeding (Case No. MDL-2223), consolidating 35 cases from around the country and resulting in a nationwide settlement approved by an Illinois federal court.   Cory Fein served as the responsible attorney for Caddell & Chapman (sole lead counsel) and as chair of the Discovery Committee.  A settlement was approved on July 2, 2013, by Federal District Judge Matthew J. Kennelly (“the settlement can be viewed as paying roughly 50% of the full value of the class members’ claims, were they to succeed” and is “clearly fair”).  The settlement provided partial reimbursement for post-warranty engine repair costs incurred by a class of over 1 million current and former owners of vehicles equipped with diesel engines, and attorneys’ fees of $12.8 million were awarded on August 11, 2013 (approving the “relatively modest” lodestar multiplier of 1.25)