GM Ignition Switch Lawsuits

GM Lawsuit Updates

NEW YORK – A federal bankruptcy judge on January 18, 2018, said a settlement agreement that would require General Motors to pay $1 billion in stock to car owners suing the company over faulty ignition switches was not enforceable.

The trust often referred to as “old GM,” holds many GM liabilities from before its 2009 bankruptcy was not valid without signatures. Lawyers for the car owners and the trust had agreed to a deal last August, but never signed the agreement. The trust walked away several days later, instead accepting GM’s offer to help pay for the trust’s defense against the car owners’ claims.

The judge blasted the lawyers of the trust in his Thursday order, saying their “dishonesty, or bad faith, was not lost” on him. But he said that despite the trust’s last-minute turnabout, applicable law did not allow the enforcement of an unexecuted agreement.

GM has already paid roughly $2.5 billion to settle ignition switch-related claims, including $900 million to settle a criminal probe by the U.S. Justice Department.

DETROIT — October 20, 2017, General Motors paid $120 million to settle claims from dozens of states in its massive ignition switch defect scandal. The settlement comes after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier that GM could no longer avoid hundreds of lawsuits from victims of the defective ignition switches in accidents occurring before GM filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009.

What Is Wrong with GM Ignition Switches?

The ignition switch defect can be explained in less than 25 seconds here:

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/gm-ignition-switch-problem-explained-in-less-than-25-seconds/

The faulty ignition switches have left 124 people dead and 275 injured in small cars such as the Chevrolet Cobalt and Saturn Ion that were made by the old GM.  The defective ignition switches can cause vehicles to stall, and GM recalled more than 2.7 million vehicles in 2014.

Call an Experienced Auto Defect Lawyer

If you or a loved one has been injured by a defective GM vehicle, you may have a potential claim for damages against the manufacturer. Do not be deterred by the statute of limitations; many states allow for tolling of the statute and have discovery rules that may save certain claims. The auto defect lawyers with the Ammons Law Firm have the legal resources and experience to assist you. Call (281) 801-5617.