JANUARY 2008
• Michael Caddell, Cynthia Chapman, and John Scofield successfully prosecuted claims in Los Angeles, California against Ford Motor Company and Budget Rent A Car Systems, Inc. arising from the rollover of a 2004 Ford E350 van. The case arose after 21 family members rented three vans and drove from California to Texas. While in West Texas, the driver of the middle van drove off of the highway, while family members in the other vans watched. Due to the instability of the van, the driver was unable to regain control of the vehicle. In the rollover event that followed, the van's passenger doors unlatched and opened, all of the van's windows shattered, and several of the seat belts failed to restrain the occupants. Three children and one adult were ejected through the van's open doors and windows, and all of the ejected passengers died. The four other occupants of the van were injured. The family alleged that Budget failed to follow its own protocols and to warn them of the inherent instability of the van. The family also alleged that the van was defective due to its instability and Ford's failure to protect the passengers with proper doors, windows, and seat belts. The terms of the family's settlement are confidential.
MARCH 2008
• Michael Caddell and John Scofield were retained to evaluate over 400 business and personal insurance claims arising from wind damage caused by Hurricane Katrina along the Mississippi coast. Within months of retention, the firm successfully resolved approximately 40 of the disputes, and they initiated lawsuits for almost 100 pending claims. Since its initiation of litigation, the firm has settled over 30 additional claims.
MAY 2008
• Caddell & Chapman represented the family of a teenage girl who died in an auto accident just east of Amarillo, Texas. The accident involved nine vehicles (5 of them eighteen wheelers) traveling on the highway in the midst of a grass fire. The teenager was a passenger in the rear of a Chevy Trailblazer occupied by her best friend, and the friend's father and mother. The Trailblazer was smashed between two eighteen wheelers when the one in front of the vehicle slammed on its brakes. The best friend was the only survivor. Caddell and Chapman recovered $1.45 million in settlement funds for the Burroughs family.
• On May 29, 2008, Caddell & Chapman received approval from an Orange County California Superior Court of a national class action settlement involving approximately 74,000 Nissan 350Z sports cars which experienced tire roar and abnormal tire wear. The settlement provides valuable benefits for owners or lessees of the 2003 and 2004 model year 350Zs. These benefits are designed to address the issues that were the subject of consumers' claims, including a complimentary service visit and tire discount and a dealer shopping card for qualifying class members. These benefits are separate from Nissan's extension of its existing warranty on these cars and introduction of a newly designed tire, steps which Nissan took only after Caddell & Chapman and its co‑counsel began their prosecution of this case.
JUNE 2008
• Caddell &Chapman acted as Co‑Lead Counsel for two nationwide classes totaling more than 250,000 consumers whose Fair Credit Reporting Act rights were allegedly violated by the background reporting practices of Lexis Nexis Risk Management, Inc. On June 25, 2008, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia granted final approval to a more than $22 million total settlement that Caddell &Chapman and its Co‑Counsel negotiated less than two months before trial was to begin. The settlement is currently being implemented, and will provide nearly $16 million to affected class members without their having to participate in any claims process whatsoever.
• Caddell & Chapman served as the sole lead counsel of a nationwide class of more than 100,000 insureds in a class action lawsuit against Hartford and related insurance companies involving alleged systematic underpayment of their homeowner's claims. The alleged underpayment was the result of Hartford, and related insurance companies, neglecting to include a payment for general contractor's overhead and profit as part of the up‑front "actual cash value" payment made to insureds after the initial estimate of the insured's property damage. Caddell & Chapman successfully negotiated a settlement of the litigation, which was approved by the District Court of Arizona, in June 2008. The settlement includes injunctive relief, which required Hartford to change its practices related to the payment of general contractor's overhead and profit beginning in June 2008, as well as the payment, in March 2009, of more than $1.8 million in cash to qualifying class members (exclusive of attorneys' fees and expenses), without the need for any class member to make a claim.
AUGUST 2008
• Caddell & Chapman obtained Consent Judgments totaling $9 million on behalf of two attorneys who advanced over $3 million to other attorneys around the country to obtain and prosecute fen‑phen cases. The defendants, after obtaining a global settlement with Wyeth, refused to reimburse our clients for the monies advanced or pay them their share of the fees from the global settlement. The instant case-filed in federal court in McAllen, Texas-centered on fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and breach of contract. Just days before an August 2007 trial setting, the defendants filed bankruptcy in Mississippi to avoid the trial. The bankruptcy judge granted our motion to lift the automatic stay to resume the trial in federal court in McAllen. Two days into the trial in August 2008 the parties settled the case for two agreed judgments totaling $9 million.
• On August 19, 2008, Caddell & Chapman received approval from a Central District of California court of an injunctive relief settlement for class action claims regarding the three largest credit reporting agencies in the nation. On this day, the court issued an order requiring the defendants to fundamentally change their reporting practices regarding consumers with Chapter 7 no‑asset bankruptcies. This change in defendants' reporting practices will require them to finally provide accurate information in millions of consumers' credit reports. This settlement has been described by the Wall Street Journal as providing consumers "a second chance at a fresh start." A leading bankruptcy scholar described this settlement as "ground‑breaking," while a credit industry expert described it as a "landmark" change.
These three defendants, Trans Union LLC, Equifax Information Services LLC, and Experian Information Solutions Inc., are the nation's major repositories for consumer credit information. The credit reports and credit scores these defendants generate concern every consumer in the United States who has a credit history. The case involves these defendants' violations of certain obligations imposed upon them by federal and state statutes. Plaintiffs are individuals who had their debts discharged through a Chapter 7 bankruptcy and about whom defendants have prepared inaccurate credit reports, which continue to show the discharged debts as due and owing. The credit industry describes these type of debts as "zombie debt." These inaccurate credit reports prevent consumers from having a "fresh start" following their bankruptcy and can make it difficult for them to obtain credit. Even if the consumers obtain credit, the cost of this credit, including higher interest rates, can be more expensive than it would be if the credit reports were accurate. Defendants have estimated the nationwide class of consumers affected by their practices to be as many as 10 million people. Before winning this landmark victory, Caddell & Chapman and its co‑counsel had been successful in defeating a motion to dismiss filed by one defendant and a motion for preliminary approval of a class action settlement in a different case, before the same court, concerning the same facts and causes of action. The court agreed with the concerns expressed by Caddell & Chapman and its co‑counsel about the limited relief provided to consumers in the earlier, proposed settlement. Having settled the injunctive relief claims, Caddell & Chapman is continuing its efforts to certify a class of consumers who will receive monetary compensation from these same defendants.
SEPTEMBER 2008
• Michael Caddell and John Scofield recently settled the largest tort claim recovery against the State of Nevada in its history. The lawsuit arose from a multiple fatality accident near Las Vegas involving a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper. The trooper was driving his patrol car at 113 mph without activation of emergency lights and siren. The patrol car struck a sedan occupied by five undocumented Mexican residents, which killed four and injured the fifth. In contrast to other lawyers who settled several of the wrongful death claims for the liability limits under Nevada law of $50,000 per claim, the firm successfully developed a section 1983 claim against the state and recovered $2,500,000 for its clients.
• Caddell & Chapman served as Co‑Lead Settlement Class Counsel in multidistrict litigation against Trans Union in the Northern District of Illinois. The litigation focused on Trans Union's use of its vast database of financial information, which includes the confidential financial information of most adults in the United States, to create and sell "target marketing" lists to advertisers. Caddell & Chapman, representing what is believed to be the largest class ever certified in the United States, reached a settlement with Trans Union valued at more than $100 million (including $75 million in cash). The settlement obtained final approval on September 17, 2008, and is currently being implemented.
• Leading a group of Objectors, Caddell & Chapman opposed final approval of a nationwide class action settlement in a New Mexico case that challenged First Colony's charging of modal premiums to its life insurance customers. Objectors moved to intervene in the case and objected to the settlement as being neither fair, adequate, nor reasonable. Objectors also requested limited discovery into the settlement negotiations between First Colony and Class Plaintiffs because Class Counsel conducted no formal discovery before entering into the settlement. After the trial court denied Objectors' opposition to the proposed settlement and request for discovery of the settlement negotiations, it approved the settlement.
• The Objectors, again led by Caddell & Chapman, appealed the denial of these requests and the order granting final approval to the New Mexico Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals reached a decision reversing and remanding the case. The parties subsequently agreed to settle the case and return to the district court for implementation of the settlement. The settlement is currently being implemented.
OCTOBER 2008
• Michael Caddell and Cynthia Chapman were recognized by Texas Monthly magazine as "Super Lawyers." Mr. Caddell and Ms. Chapman have been named "Super Lawyers" every year since the award's inception.
NOVEMBER 2008
• Cynthia Chapman of Caddell & Chapman served as a key member of the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in coordinated multidistrict litigation against Medtronic involving a defective battery in certain models of Medtronic implantable defibrillators. In December 2007, Plaintiffs were able to reach a nationwide settlement for $95.6 million in damages and $18.5 million in attorneys' fees after Ms. Chapman and Plaintiffs' counsel successfully defeated Medtronic's attempts to dismiss Plaintiffs' claims. Ms. Chapman served as the Steering Committee member in charge of legal briefing and took the lead role in drafting and overseeing the Plaintiffs' joint briefs in response to Medtronic's motions seeking dismissal of the claims of individual patients' claims. Ms. Chapman was successful in defeating both of Medtronic's key motions, one seeking dismissal on preemption grounds and one seeking dismissal due to lack of a manifested defect. The Settlement has been funded and final distribution occurred at the end of 2008.
DECEMBER 2008
• Michael Caddell of Caddell & Chapman has been appointed one of two co‑lead counsel in a consolidated multidistrict litigation proceeding against Ford Motor Co., arising out of one of the largest vehicle safety recalls in history - the Ford Speed Control Deactivation Switch recalls. Michael Caddell and Cory Fein of Caddell and Chapman have assumed the leading role in overseeing the multidistrict litigation that was formed by the consolidation of cases involving these recalled vehicles from federal courts throughout the country. The multidistrict litigation is pending before Judge Bernard Friedman, the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. The defect at issue has resulted in the recall of more than 10 million vehicles as well as hundreds of fires believed to be caused by the defective switch. Although the litigation is still pending, in December 2008, Cory Fein of Caddell & Chapman facilitated and oversaw a multi‑track mediation that resulted in the settlement of more than fifty individual fire cases.
