A federal judicial panel has sent two closely watched cases to California involving Wells Fargo's sales practices and antitrust class actions related to the Volkswagen emissions scandal.
In an order on Wednesday, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation sent about 25 cases alleging a cartel among several German automakers to Charles Breyer, the San Francisco federal judge who oversaw hundreds of class actions brought over a “defeat device” that allowed Volkswagen vehicles to cheat emissions tests. Those cases settled last year for $14.7 billion.

Breyer, who also is one of seven judges on the MDL panel, was a “logical choice” given the “potential for factual overlap” with the Volkswagen emissions cases, wrote MDL Panel Chairwoman Sarah Vance.