Litigator of the Week Runners-Up

Partners Renee Smith and Mike Brock were recognized as runners-up for The American Lawyer Litigation Daily's "Litigator of the Week" for their work for client General Motors. 

"... A joint team at Kirkland & Ellis and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius helped General Motors beat back a class action lawsuit claiming that certain engines have a piston defect causing them to consume too much oil. U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney had previously excluded the plaintiffs’ expert, who said that all vehicles had a defect despite data showing only 3% needed the relevant repair. This week the judge granted summary judgment to GM. “Jurors would be asked whether plaintiff proved that GM’s Generation IV LC9 engine contained a piston ring defect that caused excess oil consumption, reduced lubricity, and other issues,” Sweeney wrote. “This issue is more, not less, technical than other causation issues about which courts in [the Tenth] Circuit have required expert testimony.” GM’s defense team included Morgan Lewis partners April Ross and Rachel Raphael and Kirkland & Ellis partners Renee Smith and Mike Brock."