Posted on 03/14/2015 10:56:17 AM PDT by jazusamo
DETROIT — In a notable victory for General Motors, a lawsuit that helped spur the biggest safety crisis in the company’s history has been withdrawn in exchange for a settlement from its compensation program, according to two people briefed on the agreement.
The lawsuit was the second brought by the family of a Georgia woman, Brooke Melton, who died in 2010 in a car with a faulty ignition switch that has now been linked to at least 64 deaths.
For G.M., the agreement removes the significant legal threat of senior officials, including Mary T. Barra, the automaker’s chief executive, being questioned under oath about the company’s failure for years to recall the defective vehicles.
It was depositions in the Meltons’ first lawsuit that exposed the dangerous flaw in millions of small cars.
“The attorneys for the Melton family may have uncovered additional information that suggested G.M. did too little to protect consumer safety,” said Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor who has been closely following G.M. safety issues.
Ms. Melton’s 2005 Cobalt. Credit Cooper Firm The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. A G.M. spokesman confirmed that the case had been resolved, but declined to provide other details.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Bad publicity is not good for Govt. Motors car sales!
My daughter had a cobalt for years, I guess she’s just lucky to be alive. The people who sold her the car sincerely didn’t care about her safety or any of their other customers.
I’m pretty much resolved to never buy an American car again because of this story, certainly not one from GM.
Chrysler Town and Country vans from 2008 to present have had a similar problem. It is called a detent ring. About a dollar or two each. 900k vehicles recalled. Told that the fix will not come until June 2015. GMC provided rentals for their recall cases but only recently for Chrysler if at all.
I was part oif a class action lawsuit because I had a truck with sidesaddle gas tanks and the settlement was:
a certificate for $1,0000 off a NEW GM car or truck. NO CASH VALUE, just $1,0000 off a NEW CAR or truck. The lawyers all got paid but the people in the lawsuit had to BUY A NEW CAR to get any compensation. WHAT A RIPOFF.
Lawyers are CROOKS..............is it any wonder why so many of them become politicians?
Bump
Getting anything but a I-4 golfcart at decent prices rules out almost everyone except Chrysler and General Motors. They offer more car (and engine) per dollar despite being hit with the ugly stick of environmentalist regulations.
Perhaps if General Motors didn't have the EPA telling them to make small cars, which are outside their specialty, these safety issues wouldn't exist in their current form.
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