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DaimlerChrysler Corporation Turns the Tables on Class Action Lawyers

11 November 1999

DaimlerChrysler Corporation Turns the Tables on Class Action Lawyers

                 Company Sues Trial Lawyers for Abusive Suit

    AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Nov. 10 -- DaimlerChrysler Corporation
turned the tables on the plaintiffs' lawyers today, filing a
lawsuit against the Philadelphia law firm of Greitzer & Locks, Maryland lawyer
William Askinazi, and their client who had sued the company in a case that was
thrown out by a Philadelphia judge.  The company stated that this step was
needed to recover the costs of defending this frivolous class action and to
deter abuses by law firms that file unwarranted and baseless cases.
    "For too long, trial lawyers have been exploiting class actions, turning
these lawsuits into a form of legalized blackmail," said DaimlerChrysler Vice
President and Associate General Counsel Lew Goldfarb.  "They launch frivolous
cases because they believe that just the threat of massive class actions filed
in many states can coerce a company into settlement.  It's time they started
paying for some of the costs of abusing our legal system."
    In June 1999, Greitzer & Locks and Mr. Askinazi filed a class action suit
in Philadelphia against DaimlerChrysler and three other automakers alleging
that the seat design in their vehicles was unsafe, even though the seats had
the stamp of approval of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration,
and the plaintiff had never owned a DaimlerChrysler vehicle.  The lawyers
filed copycat cases in four other states and threatened to bring identical
cases in 30 more states.  On October 20, 1999, the law firm dropped the claims
against DaimlerChrysler after being warned that it had no case.
    "This lawsuit belongs in the class action hall of shame," said Goldfarb.
"Not only was the plaintiff never injured in a DaimlerChrysler vehicle, he
never even owned any DaimlerChrysler vehicle that he claimed was defective."
    DaimlerChrysler Corporation has taken an increasingly hard line against
abusive class action cases in recent years.
    Just last month, the company won a major trial against the class action
lawyers when an Illinois state judge tossed out a class action suit involving
1.2 million owners of Jeep(R) Cherokees.  Class action attorneys had demanded
more than $500 million for what they called "excessive" noise in Jeep engines.
Goldfarb praised the verdict, but complained that, "millions of dollars in
legal fees had been spent to prove the obvious:  It's OK for engines to make
noise."
    In September 1998, DaimlerChrysler Corporation won an $850,000 judgment
against two St. Louis lawyers who had illegally taken confidential information
while employed at one of the company's outside law firms.  The attorneys then
used the information to file class action lawsuits against the company.  The
appellate court upheld this verdict in all respects this fall.
    "Class action lawsuits should be used to resolve legitimate claims and not
serve as a rigged lottery for trial lawyers," said Goldfarb.  "Our goal in
filing this case is to seek compensation for the harm caused to
DaimlerChrysler and to make these plaintiffs' attorneys think twice before
filing a frivolous case against the company.  The irony of frivolous class
actions is that they dupe the very people they are supposed to serve --
consumers.  Not only do consumers rarely see a benefit, but in the end they
also pay higher product costs from the millions companies spend in defense or
settlement."
    DaimlerChrysler is seeking a multi-million dollar damage award to recover
the cost of defending the frivolous case, the harm unfairly inflicted on the
company's reputation, and for punitive damages.