Chevrolet Bolt Battery Litigation Mdl
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BEFORE THE UNITED STATES JUDICIAL PANEL ON MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION IN RE: MDL No. __________ CHEVROLET BOLT BATTERY LITIGATION MOTION FOR TRANSFER OF ACTIONS PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1407 FOR CONSOLIDATED OR COORDINATED PRETRIAL PROCEEDINGS Plaintiffs Andres Torres, Thomas Whittaker, Carol Whittaker, Mary Elizabeth McQuarrie, DeShawn Dickinson, Greg Field, Joseph Poletti, James Kotchmar, and Robert Allen (“Moving Plaintiffs”) in the matter Torres v. General Motors LLC, No. 1:20-cv-07109 (N.D. Ill.), respectfully move this Panel for an Order pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407 and Rule 6.2 of the Rules of Procedure of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to transfer and consolidate or coordinate for pretrial proceedings the civil actions (“Actions”) listed in the Schedule of Actions filed concurrently herewith. For the reasons set forth herein and in the accompanying Memorandum of Law in Support, Moving Plaintiffs respectfully request that the Panel issue an Order transferring the Actions listed in the Schedule of Actions, as well as all subsequently filed related actions (collectively, “Related Actions”), to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan for coordinated or consolidated pretrial proceedings. In the alternative, the Panel should send the cases to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. H0101946. DATED: January 22, 2021 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Benjamin F. Johns___ Benjamin F. Johns Beena M. McDonald Samantha E. Holbrook CHIMICLES SCHWARTZ KRINER & DONALDSON-SMITH LLP 361 West Lancaster Avenue Haverford, Pennsylvania 19041 Telephone: (610) 642-8500 Facsimile: (610) 649-3633 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Steven D. Cohen Susan J. Russell J. Burkett McInturff WITTELS MCINTURFF PALIKOVIC 18 Half Mile Road Armonk, New York 10504 Telephone: (914) 319-9945 Facsimile: (914) 273-2563 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Stacy M. Bardo BARDO LAW, P.C. 22 West Washington Street, Suite 1500 Chicago, Illinois 60602 Telephone: (312) 219-6980 [email protected] Attorneys for Moving Plaintiffs H0101946. BEFORE THE UNITED STATES JUDICIAL PANEL ON MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION IN RE: MDL No. __________ CHEVROLET BOLT BATTERY LITIGATION MEMORANDUM OF LAW IN SUPPORT OF MOTION FOR TRANSFER OF ACTIONS PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. § 1407 FOR CONSOLIDATED OR COORDINATED PRETRIAL PROCEEDINGS Benjamin F. Johns Steven D. Cohen Beena M. McDonald Susan J. Russell Samantha E. Holbrook J. Burkett McInturff CHIMICLES SCHWARTZ KRINER WITTELS MCINTURFF PALIKOVIC & DONALDSON-SMITH LLP 18 Half Mile Road 361 West Lancaster Avenue Armonk, New York 10504 Haverford, Pennsylvania 19041 Telephone: (914) 319-9945 Telephone: (610) 642-8500 Facsimile: (914) 273-2563 Facsimile: (610) 649-3633 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Stacy M. Bardo BARDO LAW, P.C. 22 West Washington Street, Suite 1500 Chicago, Illinois 60602 Telephone: (312) 219-6980 [email protected] Attorneys for the Moving Plaintiffs Dated: January 22, 2021 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................1 II. NATURE OF THE ACTIONS ............................................................................................3 III. ARGUMENT .......................................................................................................................4 A. The Related Cases Should Be Transferred to a Single Forum .................................5 1. These Cases Involve Common Questions of Fact .......................................5 2. Transfer Will Serve the Convenience of the Parties and Prevent Duplicative Discovery .................................................................................7 3. Transfer Will Promote the Just and Efficient Conduct of These Actions ....8 B. The Most Appropriate Transferee Forum is the Eastern District of Michigan or, Alternatively, the Northern District of Illinois .................................10 1. The Eastern District of Michigan Has the Strongest Nexus to the Litigation ...........................................................................................10 a. GM Maintains Its Headquarters and Substantial Operations in the Eastern District of Michigan ................................................10 b. The Eastern District of Michigan Is a Convenient Forum for Litigants ....................................................................................12 c. The Related Cases Should Be Assigned to Judge Terrence G. Berg .................................................................13 2. Alternatively, the Northern District of Illinois Is an Appropriate Transferee Forum ..................................................................13 a. The Torres Action, Currently Pending in the Northern District of Illinois, Is the Most Procedurally Advanced and Contains the Greatest Number of Plaintiffs ...........13 b. The Northern District of Illinois Is a Highly Convenient Forum ............................................................14 c. Judge Chang is Well-Positioned to Handle this MDL Proceeding .....................................................................15 IV. CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................16 TABLE OF AUTHORITIES CASES In re “Factor VIII or IX Concentrate Blood Prods.” Prod. Liab. Litig., 853 F. Supp. 454 (J.P.M.L. 1993) ..............................................................................................6 In re Am. Honda Motor Co., Inc. CR-V Vibration Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., 140 F. Supp. 3d 1336 (J.P.M.L. 2015) .......................................................................................6 In re Bluetooth Headset Prods. Liab. Litig., 475 F. Supp. 2d 1403 (J.P.M.L. 2007) .....................................................................................12 In re Bristol Bay, Salmon Fishery Antitrust Litig., 424 F. Supp. 504 (J.P.M.L. 1976) ..............................................................................................8 Duncan Place Owners Ass’n v. Danze, Inc., No. 15 C 01662, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122985 (N.D. Ill. Sep. 15, 2015) ............................15 In re: Endangered Species Act Section 4 Deadline Litig., 716 F. Supp. 2d 1369 (J.P.M.L. 2010) .......................................................................................8 In re Fairlife Milk Prods. Mktg. & Sales Practices, 396 F. Supp. 3d 1370 (J.P.M.L. 2019) .....................................................................................14 In re First Nat’l Collection Bureau, Inc., 11 F. Supp. 3d 1353 (J.P.M.L. Apr. 8, 2014) ............................................................................9 In re Ford Fusion & C-Max Fuel Econ. Litig., 949 F. Supp. 2d 1368 (J.P.M.L. 2013) .......................................................................................6 Fuchs v. Menard, Inc., No. 17-cv-01752, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160336 (N.D. Ill. Sep. 29, 2017) ..........................15 In re GAF Elk Cross Timbers Decking Mktg., Sales Practices & Prods. Liab. Litig., 65 F. Supp. 3d 1407 (J.P.M.L. 2014) .......................................................................................12 In re General Motors Corporate Securities & Derivative Litig., 429 F. Supp. 2d 1368 (J.P.M.L. 2006) .....................................................................................11 In re General Motors Onstar Contract Litig., 502 F. Supp. 2d 1357 (J.P.M.L. 2007) .....................................................................................11 In re GMC Air Conditioning Mktg. & Sales Practices Litig., 289 F. Supp. 3d 1340 (J.P.M.L. 2018) ...........................................................................6, 11, 12 In re Gold King Mine Release in San Juan Cnty., Colo., on Aug. 5, 2015, MDL-2824 (J.P.M.L.) ................................................................................................................9 2 In re Heartland Payment Sys. Customer Data Sec. Breach Litig., 626 F. Supp. 2d 1336 (J.P.M.L. 2009) .......................................................................................7 Illinois Mun. Ret. Fund v. Citigroup, Inc., 391 F.3d 844 (7th Cir. 2004) .....................................................................................................4 In re Lehman Bros. Holdings, Inc., 598 F. Supp. 2d 1362 (J.P.M.L. 2009) .......................................................................................5 In re Natrol, Inc., Glucosamine/Chondroitin Marketing and Sales Practices Litig., MDL-2528 (J.P.M.L.) ................................................................................................................9 In re NuvaRing Prods. Liab. Litig., 572 F. Supp. 2d 1382 (J.P.M.L. 2008) .....................................................................................15 Persad v. Ford Motor Co., No. 17-12599, 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117551 (E.D. Mich. July 16, 2018) ...........................13 In re Phenylpropanolamine (PPA) Prods. Liab. Litig., 173 F. Supp. 2d 1377 (J.P.M.L. 2001) .......................................................................................8 In re Phenylpropanolamine Prod. Liab. Litig., 460 F.3d 1217 (9th Cir. 2006) ...................................................................................................4 In re: Pilot Flying J Fuel Rebate Contract Litig., 11 F.