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GM Settles Two More Bellwether Lawsuits Over Ignition Switches

General Motors Co. says it has reached agreements to settle the final two of six bellwether legal cases this year involving its defective ignitions switches.
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General Motors Co. says it has reached agreements to settle the final two of six bellwether legal cases this year involving its defective ignitions switches.

Two earlier cases were dropped by the plaintiffs, and GM was cleared of liability in two more. Bellwether lawsuits are intended to indicate the likely outcome of other similar lawsuits, thereby speeding their resolution.

GM offered no details about the most recent settlements, except to say one involved a single-vehicle crash of a 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt small car. The Cobalt was among 2.6 million cars GM recalled in 2014 because their ignition switched could be jogged out of the “run” position by a bump in the road.

GM has paid about $2 billion in criminal and civil penalties generated by the defective switches. The company also dispensed several hundred million dollars through an out-of-court program that reached settlements involving 124 fatalities and 275 major injuries.

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