Posted on 01/02/2016 11:47:26 AM PST by jazusamo
A civil trial set to start this month in New York City will test the legal boundaries of hundreds of claims remaining against General Motors Co. stemming from faulty ignition switches.
The case involves an Oklahoma man who blames a defective ignition switch for preventing his air bags from deploying during a crash. It's the first trial to result from hundreds of lawsuits filed against GM after the auto giant revealed in 2014 that faulty ignition switches in Chevy Cobalts and other small cars necessitated an unprecedented recall. The switches can slip out of the "on" position, causing the cars to stall, knocking out power steering and turning off air bags.
GM knew about the faulty switches for more than a decade but did not recall them until February 2014. The company paid nearly $600 million to settle 399 claims made to a fund it established. Those claims covered 124 deaths and 275 injuries, though GM's fund rejected more than 90 percent of the 4,343 claims it received, according to figures the company released in December.
In recent weeks, U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman, the presiding judge, has made rulings that may prevent the automaker from taking the easy road toward settling or forcing dismissal of scores of lawsuits.
The judge has refused the company's request to exclude evidence and arguments related to punitive damages, saying GM's delay in recalling admittedly defective vehicles was "arguably dangerous conduct as it involved a hidden defect that caused a risk of serious injury or death."
The judge also ruled that the "New GM," as it is repeatedly referred to in court papers, cannot dismiss the claims of Robert S. Scheuer -- the plaintiff in the trial set to start Jan. 11 -- merely because he failed to keep his 2003 Ion...
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
GM?
This could ruin Detroit!
Of the two remaining US automakers, Ford is the only one I’ll still consider buying from.
My daughter had a cobalt. I guess it is just luck she is alive. GM couldn’t have cared less. I’ll never buy another American made car again. People should be put in prison for this. But they are rich so they walk free. I hope they burn in hell.
I believe in buying American (although that has taken a beating over the past seven years) but I won’t fault anyone for refusing to buy a UAW built vehicle.
You couldn't be more correct. GM knew about the safety defect in 2005, corrected it and not only did not recall existing cars on the road but covered it up, that criminal act cost many more lives and hundreds of additional injuries.
I will never buy a GM product again. Try this in China and they would have got a bullet in the head!
Trouble... of course this being an Uncle Sam enterprise now, this might get bounced to Congress to pass yet another appropriation to cover it. It is the car maker too big to die and be reborn.
So how many private fixes of this are taking place? While they shouldn’t need to be dinging the car owner like this, that would be a measure of genuine public concern.
Yep, in my view it is a public concern. Of course they finally recalled them in 2014 but I’d guess there’s still many people driving them that haven’t be notified because of resales.
But isn’t there some kind of recall eligibility check list? You go to a web site, punch in your VIN, and it says the car needs it and it hasn’t been done?
I’m sure there is if people do it. At least GM finally made the recall and made an effort to correct it even if 10 years too late.
Amen to that.
I’ve checked mine it’s pretty tight without any slippage, but I do not put 20 lbs of stuff and things on my key chain to make it move while the care key is in the ignition switch.
One woman was put in jail for murder because her car’s ignition switch malfunctioned and her passenger died. GM denied they knew of any problem with her car’s design that would have caused this all while they knew different.
Ms. Anderson spent most of a decade in jail because GM lied. Now GM isn’t apologizing and won’t pay restitution.
Er, correction, spent five years on probation and had her life as ruined as if she’d been in jail instead.
I read about her case sometime back, if anyone has a case against GM she should.
I watched the video. My Christian beliefs are preventing me from posting what I want to post, so I’ll just say I never want to see the inside of another GM dealership.
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