The Convergence of Automotive, Product, Class Action, and Consumer Litigation

Defect theories that begin in individual automotive product liability and consumer warranty litigation routinely find their way into class action litigation, but with a twist. The strict liability theories asserted in product litigation, and the warranty theories asserted in consumer litigation, become fraud claims in the class actions. Now, the process is starting to reverse; the consumer fraud claims are now being asserted in individual product and consumer cases. The net result is that strategies for class action litigation are becoming increasingly relevant to the defense of product and consumer litigation, and vice versa. This program will explore some of those strategies, including removal of product, class action, and consumer litigation to federal court, anticipating and defending against collateral estoppel claims (and the relationship between collateral estoppel and class certification), deposing class representatives and individual plaintiffs, legal defenses to fraud claims, and more.

Tuesday, October 16, 2018
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. EST

Speakers: John M. Thomas, Member, Ann Arbor; Derek S. Whitefield, Member, Los Angeles

Click here to register

CLE accreditation is anticipated for California, Illinois and Texas. We provide Uniform Certificates of Attendance and jurisdiction-specific information for those licensed in other jurisdictions. Please contact Sarah Minjoe at sminjoe@dykema.com with questions.