On January 19, 2016, Judge Charles Breyer appointed Robert S. Mueller as a neutral settlement master to help settle the claims against Volkswagen. The Special Master will work with the lawyers from both sides to see if a mechanism for offering fair settlement offers can be setup. Mr. Mueller is a former FBI director and now a practicing attorney in Washington, D.C. Judge Breyer noted that Mr. Mueller possesses “considerable experience and judgment to facilitate settlement discussions among the various parties in these complex matters.” This quick appointment of Mr. Mueller, further shows Judge Breyer’s commitment to try achieve expeditious settlement offers in this case. Mr. Mueller will work with Kenneth Feinberg, VW’s “independent” claims administrator to reach a settlement agreement in this case.
Once settlement offers are proposed, which will likely take several more months, our firm will evaluate the offers. We will let our clients know if the offers are fair or if we feel it would be more beneficial to litigate as a group outside the class action. If the settlement offers appear to be insufficient, we may advise our clients to “opt out” of any proposed settlement and allow us to continue to aggressively pursue action against Volkswagen on our own. Our law firm has great experience fighting large corporations like Volkswagen, and our aim is always to get our clients the best recovery that is available. Right now, we have a significant class of litigants and our numbers are growing daily, and that gives us leverage to negotiate a more favorable recovery.
We also have a strong professional relationship with VW’s claims administrator, Mr. Feinberg. Our firm worked closely with Ken Feinberg when he served as Special Master for the Victims Compensation Fund (“VCF”) for World Trade Center 9/11 victims and families. Our law firm represented over 600 families in the initial VCF, and we continue to represent thousands of first responders, clean-up workers, residents and area students in the current VCF. We've worked work well with Mr. Feinberg in the past and, if appropriate, believe we can do so again here to get the best results for our clients.
