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GM Prevails in Another Ignition Switch Lawsuit
A state court judge in Texas has thrown out a bellwether lawsuit that blamed a crash in 2012 on one of General Motors Co.’s defective ignition switches.
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A state court judge in Texas has thrown out a bellwether lawsuit that blamed a crash in 2012 on one of General Motors Co.’s defective ignition switches.
The dismissal is the third test case GM has deflected this year. The first two occurred in a federal court in New York City. Bellwether cases are being used to help determine the likely outcome of dozens of similar complaints about the GM switches.
The Texas judge didn’t explain in the one-page dismissal why the case was thrown out. But Reuters notes GM argued the plaintiff offered no expert testimony linking the crash of her 2007 Chevrolet Cobalt small sedan to the car’s ignition switch.
GM has acknowledged the switches are defective. It also admits it failed to recall the devices for at least a decade after learning they could be easily jogged out of position, thereby turning off the engine, power brakes, power steering and airbags.
But the company has contended in other bellwether cases, including one that went to trial last week in Texas, that the driver and not the switch caused the contested crash.
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