Darice and Edward Wirth accepted Ford’s offer of judgment to release their claims for civil penalties and damages, they said Thursday in a filing in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
The DPS6 Powershift litigation, overseen by Judge Andre Birotte Jr., once stood at nearly 1,200 cases, according to an April 15 report of the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. But the cases now number 204, the report said.
A chart that the parties provided to the court in March shows many settlements and dismissals.
A global settlement of the litigation, which centers on 2011–16 Ford Fiesta and 2012–16 Ford Focus vehicles, was overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 2019.
The court has scheduled a settlement conference for a set of cases in May.
Knight Law Group LLP represents the Wirths. Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP signed the offer of judgment to the Wirths and is among numerous firms representing Ford in the MDL.
The case is In re Ford Motor Co. DPS6 Powershift Transmission Prods. Liab. Litig. (Wirth v. Ford Motor Co.), C.D. Cal., No. 2:18-ml-02814, notice 4/22/21.
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