Partner Rachel Jensen Appointed to Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in Fiat Chrysler EcoDiesel Litigation

On June 19, 2017, the Honorable Edward M. Chen, United States District Judge for the Northern District of California, issued an order appointing Robbins Geller partner Rachel Jensen to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee (PSC) in the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep EcoDiesel Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation.

The case alleges that Fiat Chrysler advertised Jeep and Dodge diesel automobiles as environmentally friendly “EcoDiesel” cars, but in reality the company had installed defeat devices that hid the true emission levels that exceeded government standards. The case is similar to the recent Volkswagen “Clean Diesel” Marketing, Sales Practices, and Products Liability Litigation, in which Robbins Geller founding partner Paul Geller was appointed to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee. That case yielded over $17 billion, the largest consumer auto industry class action settlement in history.

The court selected Jensen to work closely with lead counsel in a collaborative role with the PSC. The court’s decision on who was selected to the PSC was based on various factors, including “experience, resources, the scope of the class (e.g., geographic spread, categories of class members), the support of other attorneys, and diversity.”

In re Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep EcoDiesel Mktg., Sales Practices, & Prods. Liab. Litig., No. 3:17-md-02777-EMC (N.D. Cal.).