Notes From GM Investigation Are Privileged, Judge Finds
Notes and memos on witness interviews that General Motors' lawyers, led by Jenner & Block chairman Anton Valukas, assembled for an internal report on the company's ignition switch problems are protected by the attorney-client privilege and attorney work product doctrine, a federal judge has ruled.
January 20, 2015 at 11:06 AM
6 minute read
Notes and memos on witness interviews that General Motors' lawyers assembled for an internal report on the company's ignition switch problems are protected by the attorney-client privilege and attorney work product doctrine, a federal judge has ruled.
Southern District Judge Jesse Furman (See Profile) held that the work used to produce the “Valukas Report” for Congress, the Department of Justice and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration can be kept from plaintiffs lawyers in the multi-district litigation over faulty switches.
General Motors, referred to as New GM in court papers, announced the first of several recalls over faulty switches in 2014, and, facing a criminal investigation and anticipated civil litigation, the company hired Jenner & Block and its chairman, Anton Valukas, to investigate the defect and the delays in recalling vehicles.
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