Richard Mithoff Appointed to Executive Team of Lawyers for Texas Cases Against GM in Ignition Switch Litigation
HOUSTON — A state district judge has appointed Houston lawyer Richard Mithoff to the executive team of lawyers who will lead all Texas consolidated state court cases involving the General Motors Ignition Switch litigation.
State district Judge Robert Schaffer of the 152nd District Court in Harris County appointed the plaintiff’s team of five lawyers, which included Mithoff, Bob Hilliard, Mark Lanier, Jeff Wiggington and Scott West. Hilliard and Lanier were appointed co-lead counsel.
All pretrial proceedings in the product liability cases filed against GM in state court throughout Texas have been consolidated by the Texas Supreme Court to be heard before Judge Schaffer.
Mithoff, of Mithoff Law in Houston, has successfully represented clients in many national cases and lead plaintiffs’ teams in litigation against Breakstone/Firestone involving rollovers due to defective tires; representing Texas counties (and specifically Harris County) against major tobacco companies for medical costs incurred by patients at county hospitals due to smoking; and representing families of elderly victims who died in a fiery bus explosion as they were fleeing Hurricane Rita.
The Texas cases are separate from federal multi-district litigation pending before U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in the Southern District of New York, but they will be coordinated through Furman.
GM has recalled vehicles with the faulty ignition switch, including:
- Buick Lacrosse — 2005-2009
- Buick Lucerne — 2006-2011
- Buick Regal LS & GS — 2004-2005
- Cadillac Deville — 2000-2005
- Cadillac CTS — 2003-2014
- Cadillac DTS — 2004-2011
- Cadillac SRX — 2004-2006
- Camaro — 2010-2014
- Chevrolet Cobalt — 2005-2010
- Chevrolet HHR — 2006-2011
- Chevrolet Impala — 2000-2014
- Chevrolet Malibu — 1997-2005
- Chevy Monte Carlo — 2000-2008
- Daewoo G2X — 2007-2009
- Oldsmobile Alero — 1999-2004
- Oldsmobile Intrigue — 1998-2002
- Opel/Vauxhall GT — 2007-2010
- Pontiac G4 —2005-2006
- Pontiac G5 — 2007-2010
- Pontiac Grand Am — 1999-2005
- Pontiac Grand Prix — 2004-2008
- Pontiac Pursuit — 2005-2006
- Pontiac Solstice — 2006-2010
- Saturn Ion — 2003-2007
- Saturn Sky — 2007-2010
Chrysler Sued Over Accident That Killed Parents, Injured Kids
Administrators of the estates of Joshua Bryant Berry and Robin Perlo Berry, who were killed in an accident in West Texas on July 2, 2011, and the guardian of the Houston’s couple’s three children have filed a strict liability, negligence and breach of warranty suit against Chrysler Group LLC and Chrysler Canada Inc.
Chrysler sued in Berry family wreck
Relatives of a Houston couple killed in a collision that also paralyzed two of their children filed a federal lawsuit against Chrysler, the maker of the family’s minivan, and the other driver involved in the collision.
Family of car crash orphans sue Chrysler for safety flaws: Allege design faults made Berry kids’ accident worse
The accident in July 2011 was horrific — an SUV veered into the lane of the Berry family minivan near Fort Stockton, resulting in a front-end collision at highway speeds. The crash claimed the lives of Houstonians Robin and Josh Berry and seriously injured their three children, Peter, Aaron and Willa with Peter and Aaron being paralyzed.
Berry children may sue
Parents killed last summer in a had-on crash.
A prominent Houston attorney will represent three children whose parents died in a head-on collision this summer in a possible product liability lawsuit.
Local couple file suit after bus accident
An attorney representing a Seguin couple injured last month in a rollover tour bus accident in which two other passengers died has filed a lawsuit in a Brownsville district court alleging negligence and seeking compensatory and exemplary damages for his clients.
Rita bus fire families settle for millions
Victims’ kin hope award brings ‘closure’ and changes in safety
Nearly four years after 23 Bellaire nursing home residents died in a fiery bus while evacuating from Hurricane Rita, their families have reached a settlement.
Victims settle in bus crash
No criminal charges filed in Jan. 2 accident that killed 1 passenger and injured 46
Victims in a bus crash near Victoria have agreed to a settlement with the insurance companies for the Houston owners, operators and driver of the motor carriers, lawyers said.
Family: Side airbags in son’s car failed
In December, emergency crews arrived in Simonton to find Charles Tovar’s 2005 Toyota Prius in a ditch. Family claims the airbags designed to keep their son safe failed. He was only 19 years old.