Langdon & Emison attorney Michael Serra was quoted this weekend in a Chicago-Sun Times article on used car dealers selling vehicles despite open recalls. Online sales listings for used vehicles with open safety recalls are common in the Chicago area, the Sun-Times found as part of its investigative project. This latest story showed yet another example of how the firm’s work in auto defect lawsuits can help protect consumers when car manufacturers and dealers act recklessly.
“It’s an absolute shame,” says Michael Serra, one of the lawyers working on Jackson’s case. “It’s a betrayal when companies put profits over safety.”
By running the vehicle identification numbers — VINs — from the dealers’ websites through a federal government search tool, the Sun-Times found open recalls for vehicles being offered for sale including:
- A 2011 Ford Fusion S with an open recall for a defective Takata airbag inflator that can rupture and spray pieces of metal inside the car.
- A 2017 Dodge RAM 1500 Big Horn truck with open recalls for a software issue that can cause sudden acceleration without warning and a tailgate latch system problem that can cause it to flip open while driving
- A 2015 Hyundai Sonata with an open recall for a sunroof panel that can detach while driving.
- A 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt LS with an open recall for the same ignition switch problem Corey Jackson’s car had.
As an attorney at the firm Michael has regularly developed and implemented the complete discovery plan for various types of personal injury lawsuits. He is also experienced in preparing witnesses for depositions, conducting depositions and defending depositions of witnesses from corporate representatives to expert witnesses.
Michael is a licensed member of the Missouri and Kansas bar. In 2012, he was selected for the Missouri Pro Bono Wall of Fame and was named a 2014 “Rising Star” by Missouri/Kansas Super Lawyers. In addition, Michael is a member of the Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys and the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association. He graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law where he was a member of the Iowa Law Review from 2008 through 2009 and participated in the Inn of Court Trial Academy in 2012.