In re General Motors Corp. Pick-Up Truck Fuel Tank Products Liability Litigation

Certain General Motors pickup-truck owners originally sought class-action certification in a federal district court in Pennsylvania in their products-liability case arising from the allegedly defective design of the fuel systems in some GM pickup trucks. The Pennsylvania district court certified a nationwide class for settlement purposes, but the Third Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the certification order, set aside the settlement, and remanded the case to fix a defect in the class-certification procedure. Instead of proceeding further in Pennsylvania, the truck owners went to Louisiana and joined a similar pending suit, in which they restructured the settlement deal that was not approved in the Pennsylvania action and submitted the settlement to the Louisiana court for approval. Thereafter, some of the Pennsylvania class members who had objected to the settlement (the Pennsylvania plaintiffs) filed an emergency application with the Pennsylvania district court to enjoin further class-action proceedings in Louisiana. The Pennsylvania district court denied relief, and the Pennsylvania plaintiffs appealed. Thereafter, the Louisiana state court, which had stayed entry of its final order pending the Pennsylvania district court’s decision on the injunction, entered a final judgment approving the settlement agreement.