HarrisMartin's Volkswagen Diesel Emissions Litigation Conference

Conference Agenda

Day 1, Tuesday, October 27, 2015

7:30 a.m. - 8:45 a.m.
Continental Breakfast and Registration

8:45 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Welcome by Co-Chairs

Mark J. Geragos, Geragos & Geragos, Los Angeles
Richard J. Arsenault, Neblett, Beard & Arsenault
Neil D. Overholtz, Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC, Pensacola, FL
Eric D. Holland, Holland Law Firm, St. Louis


9:00 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
Managing Complex Litigation and Challenges Presented by the Volkswagen Recall

Moderator: Richard J. Arsenault, Neblett, Beard & Arsenault

Francis McGovern, Professor of Law, Duke University School of Law, Durham, NC
Elizabeth J. Cabraser, Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, San Francisco
Dianne M. Nast, NastLaw LLC, Philadelphia


9:45 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.
Volkswagen's Litigation History and Lessons "Not" Learned

• What Did Volkswagen Know and When Did They Know It?
• The “Recall” Details: 11 Million Cars Impacted - Which Models?
• Stunning Revelation: Cars “Intentionally” Designed to Cheat Emission Tests
• Emission Glitch Letter
• EPA and the Pressure They Applied
• Volkswagen’s Admission of Guilt, Corporate Restructuring, and CEO Resignation
Richard J. Arsenault, Neblett, Beard & Arsenault
Neil D. Overholtz, Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC, Pensacola, FL
Eric D. Holland, Holland Law Firm, St. Louis
Bryan F. Aylstock, Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz, PLLC, Pensacola, FL


10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
Refreshment Break

10:45 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.
Emission System Design Requirements and Regulations and the Effect on Internal Combustion Engine Performance

Gerald J. Micklow, Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL


11:15 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
RICO and Additional Defendants, Including Bosch

Roger C. Denton, Schlichter Bogard & Denton, LLP, St. Louis
Fred Thompson III, Motley Rice, Mt. Pleasant, SC
Gretchen Freeman Cappio, Keller Rohrback, Seattle
Hunter J. Shkolnik, Napoli Shkolnik LLP, New York
Roland Tellis, Baron & Budd, P.C., Encino, CA


11:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Environmental Impact and Health Implications

• The EPA’s Role
• Clean Air Act Violations
• Quantifying the Environmental Impact
Robin L. Greenwald, Weitz & Luxenberg P.C., New York
Adam Moskowitz, Kozyak Tropin Throckmorton, LLP, Miami


12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Lunch with Keynote Speech: Managing the Media During Litigation

Mark J. Geragos, Geragos & Geragos, Los Angeles

Sponsored by International Litigation Services (ILS)

International Litigation Services (ILS)


1:30 p.m. - 1:50 p.m.
Document Drill Down with Predictive Coding: This is Not Your Grandfather’s Volkswagen

Joseph Thorpe, International Litigation Services (ILS), Aliso Viejo, CA


1:50 p.m. - 2:20 p.m.
Governmental Claims

James D. Young, Morgan and Morgan, P.A., Jacksonville, FL
Joseph W. Steele, Siegfried & Jensen, Salt Lake City, UT


2:20 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Refreshment Break

2:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Criminal Exposure? DOJ and Other Investigations? Wire Fraud?

Gary E. Mason, Whitfield, Bryson & Mason, Washington, DC
W. Daniel Miles III, Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles, P.C., Montgomery, AL
Richard D. McCune, McCuneWright, Redlands, CA


3:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Damages and Causes of Action

• Current Litigation Landscape
• Exit Strategy
Bill Cash, Levin Papantonio Thomas Mitchell Rafferty & Proctor, P.A., Pensacola, FL
David Cates, Cates Mahoney LLC, Swansea, IL
Kevin Duck, Duck Law Firm, Lafayette, LA
Richard C. Dalton, Richard C. Dalton, LLC, Mandeville, LA


3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
What We Can Learn from Other Cases

• Caterpillar Diesel Emissions Case: Beating the Preemption Defense
• The History of Defeat Devices
• The GM Ignition Case: Settlements and Individual Cases
Douglas J. McNamara, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Washington, DC
Derek Potts, Potts Law Firm, Houston
Eric H. Gibbs, Girard Gibbs LLP, San Francisco


4:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Common Benefit Fund

Judge Marina Corodemus (Ret.), Corodemus & Corodemus, L.L.C., Iselin, NJ


4:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Notice Dissemination in Class Actions and Data Analytics

Matthew L. Garretson, Garretson Resolution Group, Cincinnati, OH


5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Networking Cocktail Reception