Lisoni must answer BFS complaint to Calif. State Bar

PASADENA, Calif. (Nov. 11)—The State Bar of California has given Pasadena plaintiffs' attorney Joseph L. Lisoni until Nov. 18 to answer a complaint filed against him by Bridgestone/Firestone. The tire maker accused Lisoni—lead attorney in a class action lawsuit to recall 30 million Firestone Steeltex tires—of repeated violations of the State Bar's Rules of Professional Conduct, including false statements about the company's actions and the quality of the tires. "He said the products are defective, and that's just not true," a BFS spokesman said about the complaint. "NHTSA (the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) has looked at these tires and found no defect trend." Lisoni called the complaint "a desperate, dysfunctional act on the part of Bridgestone/Firestone to deflect public attention from the alleged defects in these tires."