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GM Settles Dozens of Ignition Switch Lawsuits
General Motors Co. has settled about 200 lawsuits involving the company’s 2.6 million defective ignition switches, according to a filing in a New York federal court.
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General Motors Co. has settled about 200 lawsuits involving the company’s 2.6 million defective ignition switches, according to a filing in a New York federal court.
Details, including terms of the agreements, were not immediately available. Reuters says the settlement also may resolve hundreds of state-level lawsuits.
GM has paid some $2.5 billion in penalties and settlements, including $594 million disbursed through a victim compensation program that covered 124 fatalities and 275 serious injuries. The faulty switches can be easily jogged out of the “run” position, thereby shutting off the engine and disabling the vehicle’s power steering, power brakes and airbags.
Two months ago the U.S. Supreme court let stand a lower court ruling that GM could be sued over ignition switch incidents that occurred before the carmaker emerged from bankruptcy in 2009. The decision allowed lawsuits to move forward that seek roughly $10 billion for injuries, fatalities and eroded vehicle value.
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