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April 22, 2014

Plaintiffs Challenge GM Bid to Evade Liability for Ignition Defect 
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Plaintiffs seeking damages for the faulty ignition switches in General
Motors cars have filed a class action suit to block the auto giant's
effort to avoid liability. On Monday, GM formally asked a bankruptcy
judge to protect it from all claims that predate its 2009 bankruptcy and
taxpayer bailout. GM wants the court to distinguish the "Old GM" from
the post-bankruptcy "New GM," exempting it from Old GM's liabilities.
The plaintiff's lawsuit says: "GM's argument suggests that the
government would have agreed to extend $40 billion of taxpayer money,
and supported shielding it from liability, had it known of GM's
intentional misconduct." The ignition switch defect has been linked to
13 and possibly hundreds of deaths as well as the recall of more than
2.6 million vehicles.

 

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